The Felix Burton Story, book 2 Imperium Arcana
by DreoganDragon
Summary: As the summer's ending, frustration is overcoming Dreogan's carefree time in Cornwall with Charles' family. Frustration over the Ministry's inability to apprehend his siblings and unwillingness to take his warnings seriously as they fall on deaf ears. As the year two begins so do the attacks on muggles and wizard folk alike continue, by his family on a global scale.
1. Chapter 1

Harry Potter Universe

The Felix Burton Story

Book II: Imperium Arcana

Summer sun's rays radiated down on them, past the semi collapsed vaulted-ceiling. Lichen and other plant life hang from it dispersing the sunrays with the gentle breeze shaking them left and 1: King's Goblet

The granite floor echoed their steps.

"Who knew! I've been here so many times in the past and…how can it not be ruins? I always saw it as complete ruins in the past!" Charles remarked, one more time, excited.

"You were a muggle, or the concealment charms and wards thought you were. Any muggle comes near Hogwarts, they'll see it as complete, unsafe ruins as well."

"I know, but still! Look at this place!" Charles motioned at the large corridor, with tapestries and stained-glass windows, adorning the granite walls and floor.

Emerick chuckled. "It's still ruins, just less derelict than muggles are able to see. This used to be King Arthur's Palace and at one point held Merlin's library. Only logical it is under the protection of the Ministry."

They entered a circular room, with a chair made out of white marble, split in two and time-worn in the center of the room.

"Says here, this was Arthur's throne room, where's the round table?" Charles noted, reading on a plaque near the entrance.

"Things may be…exaggerated a tad", Emerick noted. "Look around the room."

"Yeah, what?" Charles looked around, as if expecting to see a revelation of sorts.

"It's circular. This was the Dark Ages, the throne and all the tables were still rectangular, but the room is round. And it's been nearly one thousand five hundred years since then, or something."

Dreogan had moved off to the far side of the room, behind the damaged throne. "Look here, I wonder what it says here", He pointed on a pedestal with a carved niche on it and two words on it.

"Mughtern Gwedrenn", Charles' dad came closer. "The text's worn out but I think it says, "King's Goblet" If my school's memory of Cornish is still good", He told him.

"So here they placed Arthur's drinking goblet, when he wasn't using it? Why isolate it like this?" Dreogan wondered.

"You don't know the Arthurian legend?" Charles corked an eyebrow.

"I know what I've read in our History of Magic, of it", Dreogan shrugged.

"Arthur, according to -muggle- legend, left Albion in search of the Holy Grail. This pedestal wants us to believe he found it and brought it back", Charles told him, trying very hard not to explode from all the excitement.

"Holy Grail?"

"You really don't know much about the muggle myths, do you?" Charles chuckled. "The Holy Grail was, supposedly, the cup from which Christ drunk during the last supper. Drinking from it is said to distill life and knowledge eternal. There's been a few who have sought it across the centuries."

"I wonder what it'd look like? Something so powerful", Peter remarked in a low voice.

"Power affects how something looks?" Dreogan inquired, perplexed.

"Don't humans embellish items they want to attribute power or significance to? Golden crowns, precious stones in scepters and engravings in swords. Thrones with carvings telling of stories of might and feats of conquest."

"I guess so, what if Arthur did not care for all of that?" Dreogan asked.

"Power? I do not know which version of the legend is true, but Arthur lived and reigned in the Dark Ages. As just a king he might have been, the age and his rank would force him to desire power."

"Power to protect his people, or power to amass wealth?" Dreogan touched the circular niche on the pedestal, feeling the cold stone.

"Depends", Peter replied.

"On?"

"Do you want to believe the fable of the legend or historical, empirical knowledge and evidence from the era?"

"I dunno, I live in a world were myths and legends are true, or can be, and what muggles see as old dilapidated ruins is…this!" He motioned to the space around them.

"It's still ruins, but much better preserved, with rooms and s….tuff! And, you know! I, Emerick and Charles go to a school where they teach us magic, actual magic!"

"Indeed. Yet history is history. Specific events or characters may differ between historical recounting of "my" world and yours but what history teaches us about an era does not", Peter smiled at the boy's facial expressions and hand and body language displayed in his effort to emphasize his point.

"Doesn't mean Arthur wasn't noble in spirit", Dreogan pushed.

"Doesn't mean he didn't seek or need power. It's not all black and white, Dreogan. In the Dark ages, after the fall of the Roman Empire, feudal Kings, Lords and Aristocrats needed to be strong and powerful, or another kingdom conquered them and enslaved the populous", Peter asserted.

"I guess."

"Can't protect anyone without strength, without power. The difficult part's in not obtaining so much that it corrupts you. And humans have a horrible track record on that."

"How do you avoid that?"

"Not easy, power is as seductive and addictive as few things are. Delegating, sharing, enabling others to be inspired and strong by you not under you can help."

"Makes sense, it's just…" They moved on to the next room. "My father, my siblings and my ancestors have only used power for one purpose. To inflict pain and death."

"You need not be defined by their choices, or deeds. Make your own choices and be defined…and judged by them. Choose how you want to acquire power and what you want to do with it." Peter sought to alleviate his worry.

"I'll try", Dreogan tried a smile.

They continued walking through the various rooms of Tintangel Castle, before descending the stairs to the cave and the beach.

The four of them had gone on ahead, when Dreogan heard Helen yell her husband's name, clearly distraught.

"Peter! Peter!"

"What is it?" She showed him her mobile phone's holoscreen.

His face darkened, nodding. "Charles, take Alfred's hand, we're going."

"What is it? What happened?" Charles asked, seeking the older of his two younger brothers who was with them.

"Nothing, we're going to the beach you all like, near Truro."

"I'm not a baby anymore, and I have a smartphone! Just tell me, please", Charles insisted on his father's effort of vagueness.

Peter sighed. "There was a terrorist attack on a stadium near here, in Exeter. First reports say of, at least, a thousand dead and injured and the authorities advice people to stay indoors if they can. So, please let us go."

Charles grabbed Alfred's hand, following his parents. He guessed his mother was calling the parents of the friend his youngest brother was with, to make sure everything's okay.

They got in the car. "Will it be safe in the beach? I don't think we mind going home", Charles said, trying not to sound as scared as he was, in front of Alfred.

"Should be okay", His mother replied, having terminated the call. "Susan will meet us there with William and his friend."

For Dreogan seeing, these past few weeks, the family interactions between the Blakes was something of a revelation, at times funny and hilarious at times a cause of sadness for what he now understood he never had. Funnier of all were the efforts of Alfred and William to gain their older brother's attention through scandalous, mischievous and playful behaviours.

Now, as the day drew to a close in Towan beach Dreogan saw them giggle between them, looking at the direction he and Charles.

Dreogan and Charles had been chatting with Emerick, while lying in the surf's edge, their legs and thighs getting wet while their upper bodies remained nicely dry and sunbaked.

Alfred, nine years old, a miniature version of their father with wavy black hair and blue eyes he tried his best to be loud, hyperactive and gregarious. He moved closer to them.

Dreogan hid a grin, bringing his legs closer to his stomach. The boys were up to no good, whatever they intended to do this time.

Alfred came in front of them. "What is it like? In Hogwarts? Mum says I'll go there in two years or somethin'!"

Charles begun explaining, for the umpteenth time this summer, completely missing William coming from behind, crouched in ambush, holding a bucket-full of liquid mud.

Dreogan got his hands under his torso, moving slightly to his left.

William at seven years old had brown hair like his older brother and mother, he too wore it longer, the wind moving it left and right over his green eyes. He was more timid than either of his two brothers, but also way more mischievous, his brain always working overtime on how to one-up or annoy them with alliances changing on a daily basis.

Now, he moved silently behind Charles, a wide toothy grin adorning his lips, his green eyes sparkling wildly.

Dreogan waited until William was ready to eject the bucket's content, Emerick as oblivious as Charles he was looking at Alfred and the boy's seeming concentration at Charles' explanation of life in the school.

William let out a prolonged giggle and unleashed his bucket-full of slippery, runny mud at them.

Dreogan launched himself away to the left, rolling out of danger, but Emerick and Charles were not as fortunate, getting inundated with the brown sludge.

Alfred, probably, had wanted to get out of it but his legs seemed paralyzed by the intense laughter.

"OY! You buggers!" Charles bellowed, not nearly as angry as he looked. Alfred tried to make a run for it, only too late.

"Noooooooo!" Alfred whined, giggling as Charles started grabbing copious portions of mud, rubbing them on his torso and cheeks.

William tried to run back the opposite way, away from the foray but Dreogan was faster and better prepared than the others and in but a few strides caught him, and a wild tickle-fight begun.

"No! Stahp! I'll pee meself!" William said amongst hiccups from the intense giggling.

"Oh, then it's a good thing we're so close to the sea!" Dreogan feigned apathy to the younger boy's plea, but soon stopped.

Charles grabbed Alfred from under his armpits, throwing him up in the air and in the, cold, water.

Alfred gave a mix of yell and giggle that vanished under the waves, before coming up for breath.

"Who is top dog? I Aaammmmm!" Charles started saying when Dreogan tackled him from behind, sending them both head first in the water.

And their games continued until it was time to leave for home.

It was much later at night, the younger, rowdy brothers having already gone to sleep and Dreogan was playing holopoly with Charles and Emerick. Dreogan was winning by a mile and a half, 'owning' most of the hotels, apartments and services.

"How is it you always win in this game!" Charles moaned.

Dreogan shrugged. "I dunno, I guess I might be good at this game."

"Imma make you swallow that grin of yours!" Charles declared making Emerick laugh.

Meanwhile Helen and Peter were watching the news, which had largely concentrated on the morning's stadium attack. "Authorities do not yet know what weapon was used in the attack, or which group is responsible as none have yet to claim responsibility. A symbol was carved in all of the victims' foreheads. Two wings with a Greek Theta in the middle. Authorities are still investigating, the motives, means and method of the terrorists and are advising anyone who doesn't have to be out to stay indoors. In other news, there was a heist in a museum in Ath…" Peter silenced the TV.

"Time to sleep, guys. Y'all have a big day coming tomorrow", He told the three boys.

"Daaad! It's only eleven and we're on summer vacations!" Charles complained.

"Bed! Now!" Peter ordered, half-smiling.

After all of the day's activity it did not take long for Dreogan to fall asleep.

He was slowly zooming in, in a Victorian-looking building, shrouded in darkness, unable to see any other buildings, cars or pedestrians. Then a low-whisper of a laughter filled the still air.

Silence, complete silence.

Dreogan shook and turned in his bed, his breathing becoming faster.

The building exploded, sending shards and pieces all over, two wings circling a Theta erupted from within the scorched remains.

Dreogan woke up, drenched in sweat. It didn't take him long to fall asleep again.

With sun rising high above them, he walked to the kitchen, tasty smells guiding his groggy-just-awaken brain.

William was already there, devouring pancakes.

"Morning dear", Helen greeted him with a smile.

"Morning Ms. B. Morning William", He sat down in a chair next to William, rubbing his eyes and cheeks.

"Yo, D.!" William grinned, maple syrup escaping his mouth.

Helen served him breakfast. "What's eating ya?" She asked, gently yet firmly.

"Hm? Nothing, just the stadium attack", He replied, taking a bite from the pancakes.

"It is very upsetting. Now, why don't you tell me what's, really, bothering you, dear?" She smiled a "don't give me bullshit" smile.

"She's irritating like that, mum", William giggled.

Charles came in the kitchen, in his pajamas. "He's right you know, you can be irritating like that", He tried hiding a smile.

Dreogan bumped fists with him. "Nothing, just bad dreams", He returned to his breakfast.

Emerick joined them. "When's Claudia arriving?"

"I thought it was today, isn't it?" Dreogan replied, raising a brow.

"Oh, yeah right!" Emerick exclaimed.

"Just waiting for sleepyhead Alfred to wake up, then we're going to town for some grocery shopping before picking up Claudia from the coach station", Helen told them. "Then, your father will meet us at the beach for some picnic on the sand", William "yay'ed!" stretching his hand, holding his plate for seconds.

Two hours later they were welcoming Claudia."

"Hello, dear. I'm H…oh right we met last year on Christmas in platform nine and three quarters!" Helen corrected herself, making Alfred and William to roll their eyes.

"Since when are you shy?" Charles asked his brother, seemingly trying to tip-toe behind their mother.

"Shut up!" William replied, his cover blown. "I'm William, and he's Alfred, we have a question for you!" Charles pressed the index and thumb of his right hand on the ridges of his nose, rubbing them. Dreogan had to laugh.

"How do you put up with him? I mean we kinda hafta, we're his bros and all! But what is a cool-looking girl like you doing with him!" William asked Claudia, immediately ducking away from the incoming slap to the back of his head, from Charles.

"Ignore them, they're trying to impress you", Charles smirked.

"Eeewww!...eeehh, I mean you're cool and all!" Alfred responded.

"Well I'm honoured", Claudia hid a smile, kneeled both Alfred and William, each a peck on their cheeks.

Blushing more crimson than blood, they entered the car, mumbling something or another thing.

"You must tell me how you just did that!" Helen burst. "That doesn't work with me!" They laughed.

"Well, I'm not their mother, and I am both fashionable and cool. And well, half Italian, the better half", Claudia said with self-confidence and flare.

"Oh, I like you. Get in, we're gonna leave your luggage at home, have you change and head to the beach", Helen told her after a hug.

The sun burned hot, bombarding their skin with ray upon ray of radiation, giving them their summer tan as they run out of the car and headlong into the sea, dumping sandals, and t-shirts along the way.

Claudia helped Helen with the beach accessories, before slowly walking in the water. Dreogan, Emerick and Charles aided as well, after taking a dip in the cool ocean's water.

After an hour's worth of swim and water-play, they begun to walk along the surf's edge. Chatting and laughing.

Then, suddenly Charles froze on his tracks.

"What's up?" Dreogan asked, sensing fear.

"Nothing, wanna go explore the other way?" He tried to redirect, but Dreogan, more than the others, was no stranger to fearful eyes.

"Why are you afraid of those boys, there?" He asked, not in accusation but concern. "I've not known you to be afraid of anything, before."

"I'm not, wanna go the other side of the beach?" Charles insisted. "Plenty of coves and rocks there as well", He tried to sound calm.

"Don't bullshit us", Dreogan demanded. "What's up?"

"They bullied you in elementary school, didn't they?" Claudia asserted, in a gentle yet matter-of-fact voice.

Charles nodded, lowering his face.

"Fought back, yes?" Dreogan asked, trying to understand the cause of his friend's excessive fear.

"I did, but it's kind of hard when you're alone against three."

"Alone? You must have had friends? I find it impossible to believe you didn't", Emerick chipped in.

"I had friends, they feared the Haylong brothers more than I did. It's one of the reasons I loved Hogwarts so much. I met you and I was no longer alone against the bullies like Harold, plus we learn some wicked stuff there!" Charles sighed trying to smile.

"I will walk to the Haylongs, and you can walk with me or you can let me be alone against them", Dreogan told his best friend and started walking at the boys' direction.

"You're not alone anymore, mate", Emerick gave him a pat on his back and followed Dreogan.

"Fine, but you two are going back to mum and dad", He told his younger brothers, pointing there with his finger.

William and Alfred looked at each other, grinned and run after Dreogan.

"Why do I bother…" Charles hang his shoulders.

"Come on", Claudia nudged him on, smiling wickedly.

Dreogan saw the Haylongs grin evil smiles and hid his.

"Cornwall is so beautiful!" He said just loud enough for everyone in the vicinity to hear. "We don't have this in Cambridgeshire, it's bleak and dreary in the Mansion."

One of the three boys bared a toothy smirk. "Mansion? You mean you have someone who is not poor as a friend?" He sniggered.

"L-leave us alone David!" Charles tried to sound strong.

"Booohooohoo…", David jeered him on. "You think you're safe because you changed school, Blake?"

"No", Dreogan cut in. "He's safe because he no longer has to fight daft, imbecile morons such as yourselves alone, anymore."

"Who might you be then?" David's face oozed of venom. "His boyfriend?" He laughed as did his brothers.

"His friend, and someone infinitely wealthier than you."

David's lower lip curved upward on the sides with his nose contracting. "Doubtful, my father married into old money", He replied with fervent arrogance, his self-confidence marred. "We have a large cottage in Truro."

Charles, jaw slacking, had his eyes nailed on Dreogan. On the boy's relaxed pose and calm demeanor. "Ah, well my father _is_ old money. I'm sure he must have some property around here, he loves purchasing old Manors and renting them out to his rich…friends. Come to think of it…isn't Penzance in Cornwall? I think we have something there, London, Amsterdam, New York…I could go on if you like?"

Claudia stifled a snort.

"Bullshit! As if someone with money would have Charles as friends!"

Dreogan shrugged, looking increasingly bored of the boastful teen. "Why not? His parents do more than okay, they are honourable people and have integrity, as does he. Something that I'm sure you clearly and most severely lack."

"What? I have money!"

"You have nothing, your father has nothing. His wife has. You have no honour, integrity or intelligence. You are a leach", Dreogan dismissed him.

"Let's beat 'em up, Dave!" The middle of the three brothers declared.

"Mindless violence", Claudia entered the fray. "The tool of the uneducated, unintelligent male brute. How unoriginal. How do you even live with such low self-esteem?" She said, her mouth curved in disgust.

"What did you say to me?" The boy walked in front of her, looking menacing.

"I know your vocabulary is poor, but come on you can't even understand something as simple as this? Disappointing", She dismissed him further.

"Go on, Tom. Get her already! What are you waiting for? Harris get the youn' ones!" Tom, the middle boy grabbed Claudia's wrist while Harris stood between Emerick and Charles' brothers.

"You don't want an enemy of us, boyo", Emerick flexed his fists.

"They're not worth it", Charles tried one more time to get them to leave. "Let's go."

"It's worth that you get your power back from these guys", Dreogan replied him, with Claudia nodding, seemingly ignoring Tom's hold on her wrist.

Dave cackled. "He's a powerless wuss. I ought to mess with your brothers, like I warned you last year I would if you talked", He had misunderstood the situation.

Charles dove in decking him with a punch across his face.

"Do you know what your weakest point is?" Claudia asked in a sickly-sweat tone of voice.

"My lack of vocabulary?" Tom replied in sarcasm, readying to punch her.

"That as well", She kneed his tender area in one quick, merciless motion of her foot and knee. "These first, though."

Alfred jumped on Harris' shoulders trying to restraint the boy's arms, as William dove for his legs and Emerick punched his stomach first and face second, in quick successive motions of his hands and body.

Charles had landed on top of David punching him. David pushed him off and regaining his footing he readied to hit back.

Dreogan pivoted around and putting his whole weight behind his left leg, kicked David in his junk.

David joined Tom in howling from the excess pain.

"Claudia, you're correct", Dreogan announced before kneeling down, his face on David's side.

"Let me tell you what will happen if you or your brothers ever harass my friend or his brothers, again", Dreogan brought his lips on David's right ear so only he could hear what he had to say.

As Dreogan whispered, David's eyes bulged out in fear before he just bolted limp-running away, as fast as his pained balls would allow him.

"Hey! W-wait for us!" Harris yelled at his older brother as both he and Tom run after him.

Dreogan stood up, dusting his swimming shorts. "See? Nothing to fear", He told Charles with a smile.

Charles hugged him. "Nothing at all", He smiled back. "How did you know? That he would react to you telling him you're richer than him?"

"Oh, I've grown with people like him, Cillian always wanted to flaunt his wealth on others, and come-ups and digs come natural after a while in those "circles"", Dreogan said. "These guys were a joke compared to some of the Old pure-blood wizarding family members, and easy to read. I don't care for any of it, though."

"What on Earth did you tell him? I've never seen his as scared as this!" Charles

Dreogan shrugged and with an impish grin he began his walk back to Charles' parents.

11


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Sister's Keeper

"Nightmare again?" Dreogan turned to Charles' voice.

Dreogan nodded, picking up an item from a stall, in Truro's magical street. The clay mug transformed into a dancing clay pigeon before his eyes.

"Same dream or different?" Charles pressed.

"Same dream again and again. Every. Fucking. Night for a week now", Dreogan placed the item back on the stall, moving on to another one.

"That sounds strange, even for the wizarding dream, no? I mean the exact same dream?"

"I don't think it is _just_ a dream. I think my brother is somehow involved."

"How? I mean you must be tens if not hundreds of miles apart!"

"Not all spells and magic require close proximity to work. I remember a spell he once tested at me. He used it to transfer emotions from me to him and vice versa. Sometimes we were in his room and sometimes he was in Hogwarts and I was in the Manor."

"Why would he even care for your emotions?" Charles asked, perplexed.

"Because what better for a psychopath than to be able not only to see the suffering he's causing in his victim's eyes but to also enjoy that suffering by feeling it?"

"That's…that's just…" His voice trailed, failing to find the word he was searching for.

"Sick?" Emerick piped in.

"Depraved and void of a moral compass?" Claudia asked next.

"Moral compass is not something Azrail or my family is known for."

"Is it the same building every time, or different one?"

"Same one", Dreogan nodded.

"Which building is it, do you know?" Claudia enquired.

"My mum would probably ask you about your subconscious and what you think it's expressing through that dream, but it doesn't sound like a typical dream…" Charles' voice trailed again.

"I have no doubt my subconscious is messed up in more ways than one, but I don't think this is a dream. No, I think this is my brother messing with me, taunting me or trying to manipulate me."

"But why? It's not Hogwarts, is it?"

"It's not. It's surrounded by other more modern buildings and some older ones."

"I thought you could only see the one building?" Charles raised an eyebrow.

"Most times it is the one building, other times it's in the middle of a city, but everything else is foggy and without colour and texture, black, bleak and stale."

"Does he want you to find out which building it is? Does he somehow expect you should know which one it is?" Claudia asked, picking up an item he left down. "Perhaps you can prevent its destruction if you understand which building it is."

"Can I? All I know is this is annoying me quite a lot."

"You could notify the Ministry's authorities, no?" Emerick stated, hesitantly.

"The same Ministerial authorities that have thus far been completely incapable of apprehending him and my father?" Dreogan shrugged. "Besides, somehow I don't think "I saw it in a dream" will convince a lot of people."

"What else can we do?" Charles' voice cracked.

"I don't know. I mean if I knew which building it even is, I could try mailing the Ministry."

"I think I'll buy this vanishing cloud generator!" Alfred said, shaking the object which produced copious amounts of wispy blue and white clouds.

"Wait until you get to Hogwarts, second or third year you learn a spell which can help you make the clouds, actually, rain!" Dreogan winked at the boy who grinned widely.

Couple of hours later they left their purchases at home before heading to the beach.

"It's so hot! And there's no wind…", William whined.

"Pity we have the trace on our wands, otherwise I could conjure up some good waves for us", Claudia dipped her feet in the lukewarm water.

"Trace?" Charles asked.

"Yeah, spell by the Ministry, placed on the wands of underage witches and wizards which track the use of magic, especially in front of muggles, outside of Hogwarts. Do so without a life-threatening reason and you're expelled."

"Well, that sucks", Charles stated, falling back in the sea.

Dreogan lunged head-first in the crystal blue waters, swimming out to where his feet couldn't touch the bottom.

Taking a deep breath in he dived under the surface, reaching the bottom he grabbed hold of a large rock's edge, keeping him under, floating there, feeling weightless, serene, and peaceful. The light-play on the surface refracting on his skin.

A magical water creature swam near him, top part that of a sea horse, with hues of green ivory and black eyes, bottom part with an elongated, diaphanous, dolphin-like tail, sizing at about the palm of his hand.

After making a few loops around him, it settled on his open, free hand, nuzzling him with its snout.

He laughed, sending bubbles to the surface.

Running out of air, he brought his hand near his eyes, for a last inspection of the creature, before pushing with his feet up against the sea-floor and giving himself a push up to the surface.

The creature swam with him a way before turning around and vanishing into the distant blue.

Coming ashore Claudia splashed water at him. He reciprocated, laughing and run at her.

She gave a squeal trying to evade him, in her teal and blue bikini, with water and foam ejecting around her slender legs and behind her as she tried to spray Dreogan, discourage him from reaching her.

Dreogan pushed ahead, only to see Emerick tackle her into the water, Claudia going "You are not going to caaaaa…." And ending in a distinctive splash and welp.

"We should name us the raptor gang", Charles laughed, one hunts, leading the prey animal into the path of the second raptor, and the third swooping in to enjoy the kill of the other two", He said and with a giggle fit he dived at his friends tickling vulnerable ribs and sides.

Dreogan let go of Claudia's feet and reached around aiming for Charles, passing one hand around his torso, under his armpits pulling him underwater, while his left hand tickled his waist.

There were two screams, like warrior battle cries and not two seconds the bodies of William and Alfred, very much in rows of laughter descended on them. "Surrender, mere mortals! Wolfric and Alfric are upon you!"

Claudia having recovered, with Emerick having turned his attention to trying to dunk Dreogan, directed her body to the two boys, grabbing one with each hand, her nibble fingers attacking their armpits and ribcage.

Their play continued for hours until it was time to depart for home and dinner, picnic lunch having disappeared long ago into ravenous mouths (and tummies).

After the roast lamb and baby potatoes had vanished, Helen and Peter lay on the living room sofa talking as the bots cleaned the table and washed the dishes, William and Alfred had gone upstairs to prepare for bedtime and the three boys and Claudia sat on the floor playing cards.

"I think I'll turn in early, today. Haven't exactly been sleeping well lately. Night everyone", After making the rounds hugging, and kissing cheeks he headed for the stairs.

"I'll turn in as well, I thi…" His sentence cut short when he bumped onto Dreogan, who had stopped still like a pillar of salt in the middle of living room.

"Oh, sorry. What's up?" He said steadying himself.

"This is it. This is the building!" He exclaimed, pointing at the folded Daily Prophet in the newspapers' basket by the end of the sofa.

Bending down he picked it up, unfolding it.

"That's the flipping Ministry of Magic! How on Earth does he intent to destroy the most heavily fortified building in Britain…other than Hogwarts!?" Charles cried.

"He managed to steal something from the department of Mysteries, last year", Dreogan reminded him with a shrug.

"True but still…where are you going now?"

"Write a letter", Dreogan walked fast up the stairs.

"Gggoragmm whaaat?" He woke up, grudgingly to Claudia's prods and whispering .

"Hummp…what time is it?"

"Stupid o'clock, come on there's Aurors from the Ministry here asking to see you", She replied, sounding worried.

"That didn't take them long!" Dreogan shot up from the bed, his eyes now fully opened, his mind awake.

"I'll wait for you outside", She said, seeing his naked torso, and cotton bottoms.

"Go down, I'll be right there", He waited for her to get out, put on a pair of brown jeans and cyan tee and run downstairs.

In the living room, sitting around the large rectangular table Dreogan saw, Claudia, Charles, Emerick, Charles' parents and two more men. The Aurors he guessed.

"Dreogan Gaunt?" A tall black man asked him, his head shaved with a trimmed beard. His body looking slim under the purple and black robes.

"Yes?"

"You wrote a letter to the Minister himself", A second man, white with short black hair and narrow face with bulky belly and arms.

"Yes", Dreogan was feeling increasingly nervous over where this line of questioning was going and the Aurors' tone of voice.

"Are you planning an attack on the Ministry, or the Minister himself?"

"You don't have to answer their questions", Peter said, sitting to his left and across from the Aurors.

"Who are you?" The first Auror to speak, asked.

"Peter Blake, lawyer", Peter replied.

"Muggle laws don't…" The bulky belly one tried to say.

"I've studied all your wizarding laws, or do you think I'd send my child to a place I did not know its rules and laws?" Peter cut him off, his voice stern.

Dreogan's jaw slacked as Charles snorted trying to hide a smirk.

"So, he does not have to answer your questions", Peter said, kneading his fingers together, his elbows on the green glass table, looking relaxed.

"I don't have any such plan, no", Dreogan shook his head.

"Have you had any correspondence with your father or siblings?"

"So, does this mean the Ministry, finally, admits they are alive?" Dreogan threw in his question. "No, none whatsoever."

"Do you know where they are?" The Aurors took turns speaking and asking questions.

"I'd have told you if I did."

"In your letter you wrote of an imminent attack on the Ministry."

"Yes."

"How do you know this?"

"My…my brother sort of told me."

"Sort of? You just said you haven't had any correspondence with either your father or your siblings", The black-skinned Auror pressed him.

"I haven't spoken to him. He…I…"

"Yes? Out with it, boy!" Dreogan crouched back on his chair.

"He showed me the Ministry blowing up in a dream."

"In a dream? You are joking. You wasted our time, because of a dream?" The Aurors displayed their anger.

"I didn't waste shit! I wrote everything in the fucking letter. It's not my fault if you and your superiors lack the ability to read", It was Dreogan's turn to lose his temper and Claudia's turn to snort.

If Peter thought anything of the conversation, or its conclusion he showed none of it on his face while Helen moved her hand in front of her face, as if to scratch off her nose.

"We are done here, good day", The bulky guy said standing up.

The two Aurors left.

"They won't do nothing more, will they?" It was not much of a question.

"Not much to go on, only a letter from a close relative of two criminals and no credible evidence.

"I'm not lying!"

"I wasn't suggesting you were, but authorities require more than a child's letter to investigate matters as severe as what you're talking about."

"You mean a child's dream…but it's not a dream, I know it's not", Dreogan hang his head, rubbing the sleepiness off his eyes.

"Can't be easily doable", Charles entertained the idea. "How would he even do it? Blow up the building housing Britain's Magical government?"

"Not easy? Try nigh impossible. Background checks, layers of security and spell wards", Claudia chipped in. "After the attacks begun and last year's heist, it is difficult even for the employees to get in every morning and leave every night. Or so my dad has told me."

"Ethel's mum was saying the ministry is surveilling everyone, nowadays. Rumours probably", Emerick said.

"That would be bad…" Dreogan's voice trailed, his stomach waking up.

"And exactly what someone like your…family could use to gather support", Peter commented.

"My family's supporters aren't constrained in the UK."

"Now, that is bad…" Charles said.

"You have no idea…"

"How about we leave this dreary talk for another time, and you all come and eat breakfast? I was thinking since we're all more or less up so early, we can go to Charmouth for some fossils hunting", Helen stood up from the table.

"As in actual, real fossils?" Dreogan asked, obviously with interest peaked.

"Yep!" Charles grinned. "Oh, you'll love this!" He jumped up.

Claudia stood up, also excited by this, although she didn't voice her excitement as the others did.

Four hours later, as Dreogan was half swimming with Claudia, Emerick and the younger Blake boys and half hunting for fossils already having found some rather intact ammonites, he saw Charles pick up a bouquet of snow-white lilies growing on the sand banks. Walking over to his mum, sitting on a towel he gave them to her.

She gave him a hug and a kiss on his cheek.

Smiling he headed back to his friends.

"I found another ammonite!" Dreogan yelled.

"Oooh! A wee one but it's intact!" Alfred commented.

"I want one!" William whined having been unable to find any so far.

"Let's go find some, then", Dreogan told the young boy who gave him a hearty, toothy smile.

Their search and play carried for another couple of hours.

"Boys gather your things. We need to get going!" Helen called out for them.

"And girl", Claudia said.

"And girl, sorry dear."

"I'm hungry!" Alfred announced.

"Whenever are you not!" Charles teased him.

"Dork!"

"Half-pint!" Charles chuckled.

"Look who's talking!" Dreogan teased his friend.

"Jerk! Says the guy who eats a whole pie on his own!"

"Boys…" Claudia and Helen quipped at the same time, making them all laugh.

"Not my fault! Tell the Hogwarts kitchen staff not to make them steak and kidney pies so damn good!"

"You lot intend to get in the car or shall I drive to Jeremy's on my own?" Helen entered the driver's seat.

"Jeremy's!" William and Alfred chimed simultaneously.

"It's like having two younger, more energetic copies of Charles…however that is even possible!" Dreogan laughed.

"Yeah, but not quite."

Having been, well, fed they returned home.

William and Alfred slumped on the sofa, holding their tummies, purring like satisfied kittens.

Emerick headed for the loo.

Dreogan liked exploring the Blakes' house, rooms and garden. This is how a proper family home was like. For one thing it had frames of pictures, still unmovable pictures! Photographs full of warmth and joy, depicting the parents and the boys in various stages of their lives, together or alone.

Exploring the corridor leading from the main entrance to the various rooms of the lower floor and the stairs going up to the first floor, he saw a picture of Helen with another woman, both at a younger age.

He picked up the picture frame, looking at the smiling women, holding it with both hands.

"She's mum's sister", He heard Charles' voice behind him.

"Something bad happened, didn't it?" Dreogan asked, in barely above a whisper.

"We don't know…she and mum were out having fun one night, then mum woke up next morning unable to remember anything and Hope was missing. Authorities were unable to find anything until the case turned cold."

"She's beautiful", Dreogan said, looking at the Woman with the long black hair, ruby lips and narrow face with cyan eyes. "It was her birthday today, wasn't it?"

"What gave it away?" Charles nodded.

"Lilies on the beach."

"Mum once said they were her favourite."

"Did you meet her, ever?"

"She disappeared a few months before…you know, before I was conceived", Charles could not help but blush a faint crimson hue.

"I'm sorry", Dreogan said, looking a while more at the framed picture. "We have something more in common, then. I have never met my mum and you've never met your aunt."

"I guess…" Charles was thinking something else.

"I hope she's found one day, your aunt", He replaced the photograph frame back on the small, wooden table.

"Wait a minute!" Charles exclaimed, suddenly. "How can I not know when your birthday is? You know mine's in May!"

"In seven days, it's in seven days", Dreogan told him, without any kind of joy.

"What!" Charles nearly jumped. "When were you going to tell me!" He wasn't angry.

"I have never celebrated them before", Dreogan explained.

"You're kidding! Leave it to me!" Charles grinned.

"Uh…okay?" Dreogan wanted to smile at Charles' cheerful demeanor but his brain returned its attention to Hope. "She hasn't stopped looking, has she?"

"And I never will", Helen's voice came from behind them, gentle if strained. They turned to see her. "She was so full of life and joy. The reason we were out that night was we were celebrating her engagement, two days prior. She wanted lots of kids, to play with their cousins. Just before we had left the dance club, we were discussing names. She wanted Diana if it was a girl, her firstborn. And Felix if it was a boy. "For he will be my joy", I, still, remember her say."

"She was pregnant?" Dreogan asked.

"No, not yet. She was looking for a job as a neurologist, she wanted to become a neurosurgeon and her fiancé was working as a curator in a local gallery.

"Then she just vanished?"

Helen nodded, her eyes watering. "There's a point on in that night after we left the club, I just don't remember anything. We weren't even drunk. The police had said we might have been drugged", Wiping her eyes, she changed the subject. "Ready for supper?"

"Oh, mum! next week's Dreogan's birthday!" Charles told her.

"Is that so? Then, we must do something special", She smiled.

"There's no need, really!" Dreogan tried to stop the inevitable, shaking his hands out half-stressed in semi-circular motions.

"Go wash your hands for supper, dear. And don't be silly, of course we'll do something for your birthday."

"Thank you", Dreogan replied, timidly, unsure what to even, really, reply.

"So nice, not to be taken for granted", Helen teased her son.

Charles rolled his eyes. "Mum, it's not that we take you for granted. No no no! It's that you live and exist to serve us", He threw a wicked, sly smile. "It's simple, really", He said before turning his head to Dreogan. "I can sense incoming flying shoes coming our way, run!"

"Yeah, you better run, buster!" Helen laughed, her attention switching to the picture Dreogan had held. "How I miss you, sis. I still remember your face, your cyan eyes. I hope you're okay, somehow", She left for the kitchen.

10


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Glastonbury Tomb

"So. Much. Food!" Dreogan moaned, lying on the sofa holding his belly with both hands. Even his, usually, flat abdomen now bulged out, even if slightly.

"This puts House Elves to shame!" Claudia remarked, feeling nicely full.

"You barely ate! Oh gawd…" Emerick exclaimed, regretting it.

"No one told you, you had to eat so much", She fired back matter-of-factly.

"You are one to talk! You eradicated the cinnamon rolls!" Charles lay on the sofa, legs up, head down, his hands on his sides.

"Doesn't count. Those were, just, too good to pass up", Claudia replied, sitting on a chair, her legs crossed, hands on her knees, sitting slightly lower than ninety degrees.

"How can you not be suffering?!" Dreogan asked, astonished.

"Half Italian. I grew up with family dinners that'd make an army feel sick after, you kinda get used to it…and learn how to make it look like you're eating while you're not", Her lips formed a faint smirk.

"Doubt it…" Emerick said, his head lying on Dreogan's legs, his legs over the sofa's arms.

"What can I say, I have a good metabolism, then."

Alfred and William were too much fed to even talk, lying on the floor with their heads on the sofa's lower end.

"My boys? Not hungry? What sorcery is this!" Helen teased them.

"I guess we must have awesomeballs birthday parties more often", Charles groaned content.

"It, really, was amazing Ms. Blake, thank you!" Dreogan breathed with as much energy as he could muster.

"Don't mention it, love. Oh, looks like you have an owl-letter."

Dreogan took the letter from the owl's leg, opening it.

"Mr. Dreogan, you are a persistent child. We have conducted our investigation and have concluded there is no means with which your father or brother can or could, as you claim, blow up the Ministry. Please, finish your vacations and have a nice year back in Hogwarts.

Kind regards,

Deputy Ministry Public Relations Officer,

Mariana Knowle"

"In other words, piss off…" Dreogan finished reading the letter, aloud.

"They have far more pressing concerns, I'm afraid", Charles had left the room, coming back with a copy of the Quibbler, Britain's alternative magical newspaper to the Daily Prophet.

"What could be more important?" Dreogan sat up straight, upsetting Emerick.

A Quibbler exclusive!

Ministry's Mass surveillance scheme revealed!

Ministry of Magic with aid from Muggle government officials have created a mass surveillance system of all of Britain's Wizards and Witches.

Dreogan kept reading the ten pages long article to its end going pale. "Oh…this is bad."

"It's the Quibbler, last week's exclusive was on extraterrestrial creatures sucking off human brain matter with magical means", Emerick tried to jest.

"If it's not rubbish, the Daily Prophet will have it by tomorrow", Claudia said, her eyes betraying her worried state.

"The muggles, as you call us, have been doing it for decades now. I don't see why the wizarding world wouldn't catch up, eventually", Peter shrugged.

"Geeze, thanks dad", Charles poked his tongue at his dad.

"One of my father's pretext for starting the whole affair with the Imperium Arcana, is that the Ministry is corrupt and turned vile against "us". If the Daily Prophet runs it, he'll have his proof as well."

"That's not, exactly, corruption though", Charles said, in a serious tone.

"He won't care, and neither will his supporters. It may very well be what he's been waiting for, to come out in the open", Dreogan said.

"So, you think he's instilling fear and gathering followers, while waiting for proof of his accusations so he can strike openly?" Peter asked, thoughtful.

"Yeah, something like that", Dreogan nodded.

"Are you all going to stand there and talk about something we can't do anything about, or do you want to stand up, and get ready to go to the Glastonbury festival?" Helen asked.

"The musical festival?" Emerick stood up, interest peaked.

"You are correct, and from what I've been reading there's a mount there with Arthur's tomb we can visit, as well", Helen replied.

"I wonder if his Goblet from Tintangel castle was buried with him", Charles said, also standing up.

Some three hours later Helen drove near the exit to Glastonbury.

"Turn! Turn the car around!" Dreogan, who sat in the front, yelled at her.

"What? Why? We are in the motorway I can't do th…", Explosions in the festival's tents in the near distance shot up in the sky, coming closer and closer to them. A red beam of light shot from above them caught a car two cars in front of them making it explode.

"Watch out!" Dreogan screamed as pieces shot all over the place. "PROTEGO!" He yelled at the last moment, fishing his wand from his pocket.

A wheel deflected off the protective charm.

Then the explosions went back the other way towards the tomb mount and the festival area.

Helen floored the breaks, turning the steering wheel to avoid the cars in front of her.

"What was that!" Charles yelled over the sounds of the brakes screeching, as a black cloud-like entity passed over them.

"Mummy, I'm scared!" William whined, ready to cry.

"That's what travel by apparition looks like. Muggles can't see it", Dreogan said, looking to his left and right.

"I can see it!" William and Alfred said simultaneously.

"Well, I can't see it!" Helen drove them to the exit.

"Mum, what are you doing! We don't want to go to Glastonbury anymore!" Charles yelled from the back seat.

Helen ignored him, taking the overpass instead, to the opposite direction and the way back to Cornwall. Just then another car exploded near them. "Well, I saw that!" She said, flooring the gas.

A man dissaperated behind them, standing in the middle of the motorway, looking at the speeding car.

Behind them white smoke streams appeared sending jets of light of their own at the dissaperated wizard, leading him away from the motorway.

"Aurors! Aurors from the Ministry!" Claudia yelled.

Hellen drove for a few meters more, before pulling over the hard shoulder lane.

With shaking hands, she got her mobile phone out and called Peter. His hologram appeared, ejecting out from the screen.

"My god Helen, are you okay? Are the kids okay? I just saw it on the news!"

"Y-y-yes…" She took a deep breath. "We are okay, everyone's okay. Please, please come."

"I'm already in the car, love. I'll fly there if I must. Hang tight, I'm coming. Keep talking to me, everything will be okay", He tried to sooth her as he drove to them. By the sounds coming from the background he must have been running as fast as his car would allow.

It took him less than two hours to get to them.

Ten hours later, after police and Auror interrogations, and the congestion in the motorway due to all the traffic alterations because of the attack in Glastonbury, they arrived home.

Peter had stuffed them all in his SUV and had had Helen's car towed. She had sat on the back, holding her youngest ones, as much to reassure them as her. Dreogan sat in front.

Peter parked in the garage, so the tow-car could leave Helen's car on the roadway.

"Charles, Emerick and Claudia take Alfred and William upstairs. Dreogan bring the stuff in from the car", Peter told them, getting Helen inside, under his embrace.

Dreogan brought in the various bags of stuff Helen had prepared for their time in Glastonbury for the day, leaving some in the corridor and others in the kitchen before he headed in the living room, timidly.

Peter and Helen sat on the sofa with Peter hugging her close, whispering in her ear.

They took notice of him as he entered.

"Oh, sorry. I didn't mean to disturb you", Dreogan made to turn to leave the room.

"Why would your brother attack the festival?" Helen asked him, stopping him.

"Wasn't my brother. To learn to apparate and dissapparate one learns it from the Ministry and then passes a test, he hasn't. Also, assuming he has learned on his own, he still prefers to travel as a large black raven with white eyes. He's an animagus. No, that was my father", He looked away. "I'm sorry."

"You didn't attack us", Helen told him. "I saw both how you tried to protect us during the attack and how you tried to shield Alfred and William from it after, when the police and the Aurors…? Had come. You have empathy, which your father and brother lack. Do you know what that is?"

"I think so, it's being able to understand emotions?" Dreogan furrowed his brows, thinking.

Helen took a sip from her tea. "Being able to understand and share another's feelings. You are afraid you are like your family. Empathy and compassion is why that will never be true."

"How…?" Dreogan felt heavy-headed, how on Earth did she know his deepest fears.

"I might be scared out of my knickers, presently, but I'm still a psychologist, and a damn good one, if I might say so meself", She replied his partly-asked question with a faint self-assured smile.

"Muggle government just mobilized the army, to better deal with the ongoing threat of the attacks", Emerick entered the room, freshly showered and wearing his PJs. "It was just on the news feed."

"They're playing right into my dad's hands", Dreogan said, sad.

"Can't muggle weapons kill 'em?" Charles asked, his voice hopeful.

"They can, but they are easy to block or avoid", Just think how easy a first-year kid in Hogwarts just blocked debris from an exploded car. Now think a well-trained adult casting spells, hexes, jinxes, curses, counters…" Claudia said looking gloom. "Muggle soldiers don't even know to look for wizards or witches. What, exactly, do you want them to do against us?"

"Lovely", Charles retorted, less hopeful.

They are blaming it on terrorism, how unoriginal", Emerick commented. "They could come up with a better cover story!"

"Muggles have their agendas as well. I'm just glad you are all okay and safe. My heart nearly flew from my chest earlier when I heard the newsfeed."

"I don't think I've ever felt more scared or helpless before. All I could think of were my babies in the back of the car and getting them out of harm's way."

"It was all rather intense", Emerick affirmed.

"Rather intense?" Charles tried not to laugh. "You were screaming!"

"Was not!" Emerick tried to retain a serious composure.

"Give up, Emerick dear. It is normal to have been afraid under the circumstances", Helen tried to smile.

"Mum…are you okay?"

"Only a scare, sweetheart. I fear things might despair before improving, but always remember. There is dawn after a night's darkness, no matter how long it may last", Charles smiled.

"Well said. Now how about you lot go have a shower, wash off all that grime behind ears and belly buttons and then have some of that hot coco you like before going to sleep? Help you put behind this dreadful day?" Peter suggested.

Coming down from having showered, everyone except Emerick who had earlier, Dreogan walked to the table, across from the holo-curve tv in the living room. Helen watched the news in the BBC while Peter made them all their hot cocoa.

Just then she switched it to the Daily Seer, the Daily Prophet's tv channel. "…during the attack the Glastonbury tomb was desecrated and broken into…" Helen lowered the volume. Dreogan stopped dead on his tracks as a young adult male figure was shown transforming to a black raven, in front of the tomb. He had short black and white hair and stood tall with pale skin and purple lips.

"Azrail..", He whispered, barely audible, the hair on the back of his neck raised.

"That's your brother? Your hair looks similar, but he is…colder."

"He used father's attack to break into the tomb, typical Azrail."

"Look at those green eyes, they're vacant of any emotion or compassion", Helen wrapped herself, tighter, in her yellow silk blanket.

"Can't display what he does not possess", Dreogan lamented.

"You lived under the same roof with him?" Helen asked, realizing.

Dreogan nodded and walked away before she could ask him any more questions.

"You can take the girl out of the office, but not the therapist out of the girl."

"He's such a sweetheart", She said to them. "Did you read Charles' last letter before vacations? I replied well in that letter because of my job", She said with a faint smug smile.

"I did, and you did, and you love helping people and I've always loved that about you", He navigated the conversation with a smooth, self-confident manner.

"You've used the law to help people as well", She smiled.

"Even if you disagree with some of my cases?" The ball was on her court, now.

"Were we to agree on everything, it'd be a most boring affair. We agree where it matters."

"Black", Peter said.

"White", She replied.

"Grey!" They said together.

"I can't believe how fast time flies, it seems only yesterday Charles and Dreogan came back from school for the summer vacations, and in a week, they're going back again", Helen said, standing up.

"Had you told me two years prior that not only magic existed but there are schools for it, and my sons would be going to them, I'd be questioning your sanity!" Peter said with a chuckle.

"Then Charles' Hogwarts letter arrived and considering how both William and Alfred could see things I couldn't, today, I don't think it'll be the only one, Helen said.

"Charles looks more than happy in Hogwarts, I'm sure his brothers will like it as well."

"Cillian and Azrail scare me", Helen walked up the stairs with Peter.

"They're not in my Christmas list that's for sure", Peter said. "Both our worlds have their lunatics and their fanatics."

"I'm exhausted, I'm going to turn in."

"I'll follow you in a bit", Peter gave her a kiss.

7


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Tours 732

"Feels weird, not going to the castle by boat", Charles said, in one of the carriages transporting them to Hogwarts.

"What doesn't feel odd anymore is getting strange looks from people", Dreogan replied.

"What is strange is your father has not yet made any moves after the Daily Prophet corroborated the Quibbler's story", Emerick said.

"Once again people are being stupid, with you", Claudia remarked.

"How so?" Charles asked, raising a brow.

"They are afraid I'll, still, help my father when he does make his move", Dreogan answered him.

"Again? Have you not proven yourself, already?" Charles exasperated.

"Ha! Maybe when Hell freezes over!" Dreogan replied.

They arrived in the castle's entrance where Professor Horsewood and Professor Willows took them inside to the Great Hall.

"Had a nice summer?" Anneke sat next to him in the Slytherin table. Harold Nott sat along with the older Slytherins and Ariana opposite them.

"I thought you weren't talking to me", Dreogan stated.

"I never said I was not talking to you. I just avoided you because you made me cry", Anneke replied.

"I don't know what I did to make you cry, but I'm willing to try and talk it through with you, if you want", His voice less harsh than before.

"It's too soon, you'll make me cry again. Later, perhaps."

"Okay. So, yeah had fun with Charles, Claudia and Emerick over the summer vacas", He said, trying to not sound as irritated as he felt.

"Oh, you all met?" Anneke tried to sound indifferent, her breathing becoming less steady.

"I spent most of the summer in Charles' house in Cornwall. Emerick and Claudia came for two or three weeks as well", Dreogan explained.

"Why didn't you tell me?!" Anneke replied upset.

"Uhm…wasn't my house to invite you in?" Dreogan felt uneasy, and unsure of what to, truly, reply to her.

"Whatever, you are right", The commencement start of the sorting ceremony prevented him from further replying.

Professor Horsewood opened the Great Hall's doors bringing in this year's first years.

After the sorting hat had said its variant of this year's sorting hat song, she started calling out names, each kid sat on the stool in front of the Professors' table and the sorting hat was placed on their heads and after a short time the hat yelled their house.

"Good evening everyone. Now that we're all sorted and settled in", The Headmistress stood in the podium, after the sorting ceremony ended and all the new students sat in their House's table.

"I guess no one outside of this table has forgiven you for saving Emerick's life last year and giving Slytherin our twelfth consecutive House Cup when the Headmistress awarded you the four hundred points, at the feast, last year."

"Don't sound so happy about it", Dreogan felt sick to his stomach.

"Why not?" Anneke giggled. "You saved a Ravenclaw's life and won us the cup. Perfect irony at your expense", She smirked.

"You have a…funny concept of friendship", Dreogan restrained himself.

She gave no further reply other than a shrug and an impish smile.

"This year starts off on a perilous niche", The Headmistress continued her start-of-the-year speech. "On the serious allegations made against the Ministry and the disastrous outcome the Minister's reply may bring forth for the future of our sons and daughters."

Dreogan looked at his friends, across the tables. They seemed to have the same thought as he did. "That's what my father is waiting for, for the Minister to reply."

"You are here to learn and be educated in the ways of magic and the arcane, not to worry of the outside world. Some notices before we feast. The restricted section, damaged two years ago, is now re-opened to the staff and seventh year students. To all from next year. Our search for a replacement caretaker continues, for now Professors Jordan and Willows will share the responsibilities and duties. Finally, after last year's events teaching, practicing or sharing and using any spell, curse, jinx, potion, or hex invented by Azrail Gaunt is now strictly forbidden. Anyone caught in the act will be punished most severely", Professor Adams paused for affect.

"Now, let us eat, drink and be merry!" She clasped her hands and the tables filled with platters, plates, bowls, and jars of all shapes and sizes containing food and pitchers full of beverages of a rainbow of colours, emitting different smells.

People gasped and gave out squeals of excitement before assaulting them like ravenous predatory animals.

Dreogan grabbed a curry chicken leg in one hand and a fork-full of shepherd's pie in the other hand, stuffing himself slowly, yet anxiously.

"What do you think your father will do?" Ariana asked him, looking scared.

"I do not know. I think he wants the war that is coming, but he wants the justification for it first. The Minister's reply, to the two articles, will sway his reaction", Dreogan replied her, after getting over the initial surprise at her apparent fear.

"I don't understand why he is so angry", Anneke voiced, swallowing her crème of tomato soup and lowering the silver spoon in her bowl. "Of course, the Ministry surveils people. Order has to be maintained."

"At what cost? If this is true, has not the Ministry become what it is sworn to protect? Tyranny and Fascism?" Dreogan tried to remain calm.

"If one has nothing to hide, one has nothing to fear from the Ministerial scrutiny", Came her reply.

"Bold words, coming from the daughter of the merchant supplying both Cillian Gaunt and his "army" and the Ministry with wands and supplies", Ariana fired at her, while maintaining her emotionless face.

Dreogan's jaw slacked, now trying his best not to burst laughing, like others near them while Anneke choked on her orange juice.

"Lies! Daddy would never do something like that! He is a respectable business man", She threw her fists at the table.

"Believe as you want", Ariana dismissed her, with a flick of her wrist before returning to her lamb roast and country potatoes.

After the feast was finished and everyone felt content and full, Professor Horsewood gave the prefects the order to take their houses to their common rooms.

In the Slytherin common room some kids, first and second years had gathered around the forest-green leather sofas in the center of the room.

In their hands they held the Wizarding World's version of holo-tablets by Potter and Hornblower Inc, tuned in the Daily Seer channel.

Dreogan, curious walked over to it, after he was settled in the dorm.

"I can neither confirm or deny nor can I not confirm or deny the allegations made by the Quibbler and the Daily Prophet at this time. Nothing more will be commented on the divisive content of the two articles other than that the disruptive and terrorist elements in our fold will be found and punished according to our laws for their heinous crimes and attempt to destabilize our most respected Magical Government", The Minister left for the Ministry of Magic's interior, having made his statement.

"The moron…he just doomed us all", Dreogan whispered.

The Daily Seer's feed was scrambled, and large mist-panels appeared.

"Father!" Dreogan exclaimed as Cillian's figure became visible in the mist-panels.

Cillian Gaunt dressed in an outfit reminiscent of Kings' regalia from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries looked ahead, looking stern and resolute.

"The Magic folk of Britain and the world hoped of a different statement from the Minister of Magic. His comments leave us with no option but to declare war on all of their Governments and institutions. As regent to the Heir of the Imperium Arcana I give them one day to offer their unconditional surrender or face our wrath in Tours, where like the Arab forces in 732 AD they too will lose."

The mist-panels disappear in thin air.

Dreogan sighed, feeling everyone's eyes in the room on him he went to bed.

"Well, they wanted a reaction out of him", Dreogan commented, dryly seeing everyone numb the next morning. "I guess this mist-like substance appeared in all Houses?"

"Probably in all of wizardom", Claudia hypothesized.

"Lovely, yet not unexpected", Dreogan let out a deep breath.

"Do you think the Ministries will win, tomorrow?" Charles asked, with big, moist eyes.

"If I know my father, he won't wait the full day. Won't let them organize fully."

"More important matters. Our first class of the year is potions, and it looks like professor Turney is ill again."

"They need to find a replacement and quick!" Claudia said.

"Didn't sound like Professor Adams is in any hurry to replace anyone", Dreogan shrugged.

"Oh! That reminds me! How are we going to prove your theory?" Charles looked at Dreogan.

"I haven't the foggiest", Dreogan answered him.

"I am convinced you are right", Claudia commented. "The Headmistress' speech last night was not what I'd think Mary Adams would have said."

"You saw me looking at you?" Claudia nodded at Dreogan's question.

"You understood he was talking to you last night, right? That whole thing was meant for you."

"If he thinks I'll join him, he has another thing coming!" Dreogan said, stubbornly. Fists on his waist for emphasis. "Feels like everything's fraying at the edges, our worlds hanging by a thread…"

"And your father and siblings are all too happy to push", Emerick said, bitterly.

"Shove's more like it."

They descended the stairs to the dungeons and the potions classroom.

Dreogan and Charles bumped on Emerick and Claudia, who had frozen at the classroom's entrance.

"Sit, sit. Professor Turney has fallen ill and I'll be covering his classes until he recovers", Professor Adams told them, waving for them to sit in their seats.

"Who can tell me what I will get if I mix fire seeds, powdered Graphorn horn and Billywig stings?" She asked, not waiting.

A few hands shot up in the air.

"You, in the back with the red hair", She pointed her hand at a Ravenclaw girl.

"Nothing, ma'am, but if you add Chizpufle carapaces you get the Antidote to uncommon poisons", The girl said proud of herself.

"Very well, ten points to Ravenclaw. You will learn about this next year, for now ready to learn the sleeping drought. Dreogan, what are its ingredients?"

"Lavender, standard ingredient, Flobberworm mucus and Valerian sprigs, ma'am."

"More specifically?" She asked.

"Dunno…ma'am", He shrugged in apathy.

"Disappointing. Anyone else?"

Again, various hands shot up.

"Slytherin boy in the back", She said, without looking.

The Slytherin boy replied, getting half of it correct...

"The level of this class is…low. To your cauldrons and let us hope to keep the Hospital Wing empty."

An hour later they exited the classroom.

The rest of the day went by without further excitement, History of Magic keeping them properly bored.

With the sun setting behind the mountains to the west, they gathered in the Great Hall for dinner.

Dreogan had just sat with Claudia and Emerick in the Gryffindor table with Charles when the mist-panels reappeared, displacing the hovering candles, overshadowing the enchanted ceiling showing the weather outside.

Three armies showed, the muggle army in the distance, unaware of the other two armies. The Ministries' and Cillian's."

Professors and students alike gasped aloud.

"This is it, this is where things go from bad to worse", Dreogan looked at his friends, grim.

"He didn't wait a day!"

"Not fair!"

"The Ministry will win!"

Students cried and chatted.

"I see French, Italian, British and…pretty much every European, Asian and American country…is that South Africa?" Charles studied the banners and colours the Aurors were wearing. "Jamaica, Japan…By Merlin's beard they gathered everyone!"

"Dear God…" Claudia buried her face in her hands, pushing back her hair.

Two hills with a valley in the middle separated the two Wizarding armies. Cillian stood in front of his. The trees had begun losing their leaves to winter's grasp and the grass was withering away, and dark rain clouds gathered above them.

"My Lord…most of them can't be older than what? Eighteen to twenty? They are kids!" Emerick whispered. "This is going to be a bloodbath!"

"You…and the Ministries vastly underestimate Azrail and Ernaline. Those are not mere eighteen-year old's, they are lethal weapons trained by psychopaths."

"Speaking of which. Where are your siblings?" Claudia said. "I don't like this…"

The President of the Magical Congress of the United States walked forth along with the British Prime Minister.

Cillian walked alone.

Professors tried, in vain, to make the mist-panels go away.

"I am bored, brother. You enjoy all this killing…I enjoy more subtle and refined forms of pleasure", Ernaline told her brother. They were in a House near the battlefield. Ernaline lay on the soft white couch looking bored. Her head resting on one hand, while her wand-hand, her left one, rested on her knee.

The lights dimmed, cast grim shadows on the modern-looking furniture

"You thrive on causing psychological torture, Ernaline. I have embraced what and who I am", Azrail run his fingers on a boy's face. He was crying and sobbing.

"Get your hands off him, don't you dare…" The father tied up and bloodied lay a few meters away. The boy itself was bound but not gagged, lying on the carpeted floor defenseless.

Azrail pointed his skeletal scythe-like wand at him, in boredom. "Avada Kedavra!" The man just lay there dead. The woman, his wife, lay next to him tortured and already murdered.

"Papa! Non! Papa! Maman!" The boy wailed.

Azrail wrapped his hand around the boy's neck and squeezed.

"He is not the one you want to do that to", Ernaline told her brother, with a faint, sadistic smile sprawled across her black lips, black hair falling on her amber eyes.

"He isn't but _he_ is untouchable…for now."

"Will we aid Cillian?" Ernaline asked, in apathy.

"For now…it serves us, this Imperial notion of his", Azrail squeezed the boy's neck harder, making him choke.

"The battle is about to start", she stated, standing up.

"We have time, want to finish him off? He is Sandra's preference age", ,Azrail cackled.

"It would take too long for me to enjoy myself. My methods take time."

Azrail slowly looked back at the boy with an increasingly wide evil sneer.

"Look! Behind Cillian!" A first-year Gryffindor boy yelled. Azrail transformed from the black raven and Ernaline apparated on a red stream of liquid smoke.

"Well, you were searching for Azrail and Ernaline…here they are", Dreogan stated dryly.

They landed to the left and right of Cillian. "Son, daughter, we are parlaying", Cillian told them, irritated at the interruption.

Azrail turned his eyes to Ernaline. They sneered.

"You don't awaken the Angel of Death and his finest warrior from their slumber in the shadows, to parlay…Avada Kedavra!" The President of MACUSA fell dead as the British Prime Minister fell dead from Ernaline's wand.

"We came here to fight!" Azrail used his wand to magically magnify his voice over the whole battlefield. "So, let us commit to glorious carnage, for my scythe desires souls!" He laughed taking off as a dissapparated black stream of liquid smoke.

Students cried and gasped.

Cillian sighed. "Today we bring an end to their corrupt regimes! FIGHT!" He sent spells at the direction of the Ministerial army.

"So, it begins. Our Generation's Great Wizarding War", Professor Jordan, near them, mumbled under his voice.

Wizards and witches from both armies shot up in streams, dissapparating, to fly over the battlefield and cast spells in a wider area.

Cillian dissapparated over to the Muggle army, casting bombarda to their vehicles and camp.

Large explosions rocked the surrounding area along with the screams of the Muggle soldiers, their limbs and bodies torn to shreds.

Cillian targeted a railtank's magnets causing it to destabilize and explode.

Ernaline landed amidst enemy ranks, grabbing one Argentinian witch's wand-hand by the wrist, twisting it just at the right moment, so that the witch's spell hit another wizard to Ernaline's left blasting him back. Ernaline twisted the hand more bringing its end on the witch's lower jaw.

"Expulso!" Ernaline said. It was as if a freight train had slammed on the witch's lower jaw, snapping the head back with such a force it tore it clean off the shoulders. Ernaline laughed, grabbing the witch's headless body with her other hand and using it as a shield against a wizard's curse. "Dejugos!" she yelled, causing messy lacerations all over the wizard's body.

Ernaline hopped over to him, like a girl playing on a field of grass and daisies, humming to herself. Kneeling down she dipped a hand in his blood and dragged it over her face, eyes open.

Azrail led a few other witches and wizards to battle. "Bloodfang, Sandra, Marigold! On me! Saeth!" Over the last few weeks Dreogan had had Peter teach him some of the basics of Welsh and Cornish Gaelic languages. He was still a beginner, but he understood that word as "arrow".

The five of them formed an arrow-head-like shape moving through the battlefield, killing whatever moved.

Ernaline waved her wand and a green fog-like cloud appeared over the heads of a group of Greek Aurors or Polemofagoi, war-eaters clad in their blue and white suits, holding spear-like wands. A second later, with a thunderous roar, Bloodfang sent a red jet from his wand, causing the cloud to burst into acid rain that ate through their magical wards and then their skin in lightning speed.

Azrail moved his wand in a horizontal eight motion, "Fiendfyre!" Fiery magical energy erupted from his wand, casting forth Chimeras, Dragons and gigantic snakes made of fire, arcane fire swallowing all in their path.

"Hellstorm!" Marygold yelled, and a wall of fire raged around them like a gigantic hurricane of fiery tendrils, mixing with Azrail's spells.

Near them a soldier of Cillian, a witch no older than eighteen, threw a dagger at a nearby French Auror, before hitting it with the gemino curse. As the dagger impaled itself on the French Auror's hand, it started to multiply, endlessly.

Sandra flicked her wrist and the daggers floated up in the air before shooting straight like high-speed silver bullets. When one of them impacted a new target, it begun to multiply.

"Finite incantatem!" A Japanese female Auror flicked her wand, causing the daggers to vanish into thin smoke. "You have no honour, you do not deserve life", she called out to Sandra before unleashing a torrent of offensive spells at her with Sandra retreating back as she deflected and dodged.

"Crucio!" Azrail and Ernaline casted at the same time, making the Auror fall on the ground in heartbreaking wailing cries.

Sandra, a wide grin on her face, approached the flailing woman, grab her by her hair and lift her.

"I do not need honour to live or to kill", She stuffed her wand inside the woman's mouth. "CRUCIO!" The Auror's eyes tilted on the back of her head, in a tearless, voiceless scream.

"Reducto carne!" Sandra said, looking straight in the woman's blank eyes. The result was excruciating even for the students in Hogwarts, seeing the battle through the mist-panels, as they saw the woman's very flesh decompose and break up. First her skin fell of her muscles, then her muscles and organs begun to break apart and fall. She was still alive through it all until Sandra gave a flick of her wrist blasting her head to pieces.

Dreogan felt his stomach clenched in a vice-like grip. Next to him a Gryffindor girl was crying.

Cillian landed amidst the Muggle soldiers wreaking havoc and bloody massacre. A man shot at him a burst of bullets. Cillian stopped them mid-air, then transformed them in a myriad of tiny shard-like particles before launching them back at the soldier.

He was torn to shreds along with others near him.

Levitating a heavy personnel vehicle, he melted it to a liquid blob and threw it on a group of soldiers exiting a nearby temporary barracks building. Their screams filled the air, stomach-curdling wailing cries.

"Portus!" Cillian threw the spell on a weapon lying on the ground, before levitating and hurling on two other soldiers, a man, and a woman. They vanished instantly. "Enjoy life…in the middle of the mountain!" He laughed.

The battle raged for an hour until one of the Government officials sounded the retreat, the battle was lost.

One by one the remaining Aurors dissapparated.

"Roam the battlefield, kill any survivors", Azrail told his sister and his three followers.

They fanned out, following his order, all of them bathed in blood, grinning contently.

Cillian stood above the MACUSA's dead President, lying next to the Minister of Magic's corpse.

"Here! Here lie the ashes of the old world!" Directing his wand at the two desisted officials he incinerated them to ash. His army cheered. "Here in this battlefield I so proclaim the foundation of the Imperium Arcana with me as Imperial Regent and Consul", The mist-panels disappeared the moment he stopped talking, and a water-like portal popped into existence in the middle of the four tables, just where in the sorting ceremony the stool and hat would stand.

The students in the two tables nearest to it jumped back, yelping and gasping, trying to put as much distance between them and it as they could.

In the portal Cillian reflected in the center with Azrail and Ernaline to his left and right.

"My son and heir, Dreogan. Everything I have done, has been for you. To make you happen, to have you evolve into what is expected of you. The Imperium Arcana is my legacy to you. Join me, take your rightful place as Imperator", He stretched his hand towards the portal.

11


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Imperium Arcana

Dreogan stood up from his seat. Everyone's eyes followed him as he, slowly, walked up to the portal, standing within a hair's width away from it. A cemetery would have been noisier.

He took a breath, deep and long. "You might as well kill me now, Cillian, for I will never join you and I will always fight you, you disappointing excuse of a genes donour. I reject you and all that you stand for", Dreogan finished by spitting at the portal. Turning around he started walking towards the Great Hall's entrance.

'GET BACK HERE!" Cillian bellowed, pointing at the ground in front of him. "GET BACK HERE THIS INSTANCE AND ASSUME YOUR ROLE BY MY SIDE!"

Dreogan didn't even slow down. "Never", he breathed out, exiting the Great Hall.

He practically run to the drawbridge outside the castle's main gates.

There he leaned in against the baluster, wrapping his head in his hands. Torch light illuminated his face and the small portion of the drawbridge, other torches illuminated small parts of it to the end in the opposite hill of the old moat, now filled with water from the lake.

"Well…that was interesting!" Charles' voice echoed across the landscape.

Dreogan turned his face to see Emerick and Claudia following his best friend. He turned his gaze back on the moon shinning on the dark waters of the lake.

"They…he didn't come through the portal, did he?", he asked after a while.

"Nope, none of them did", Charles confirmed, shaking his head.

"They want me so bad, why not come in and grab me?" Dreogan wondered aloud. "I doubt the Professors could have stopped them three."

"They…he doesn't want to force you, your father wants you to embrace it…him willingly", Claudia said, leaning against the drawbridge's metal wireframe.

"And he's willing to let the world burn for it", Emerick stated, strained.

"He's the one holding the torch, he and Azrail", Dreogan said.

"I can't believe he is your brother, he is…he is…" Claudia searched for the right word.

"Mental?" Charles voiced his choice.

"Clinically insane?" Emerick followed suit.

"He is Azrail, he has no empathy and he's as psychotic as he is genius in inventing new spells."

"War has broken out, there is a good chance an Auror will bring him down, lock him up in Azkaban and throw away the key", Emerick said.

"The world's not going to be safe as long as Azrail is alive in or out of Azkaban. Dementors won't keep him in Azkaban for long, they won't affect him as they do others", Dreogan shook his head.

"Dementors?" Charles asked, raising a brow.

"Some of the foulest creatures to…walk Earth. Undying, the feed on human emotions as you and I feed on vegies and meat", Dreogan explained.

"Sounds revolting", Charles skewed his nose.

"Aye, although the truly worst thing about them is the Dementor's kiss, where they suck out your soul through your mouth, and you are left an empty, void shell", Emerick finished Dreogan's explanation.

"You are yanking my chain!" Charles exclaimed.

"They're not…it's true, all of it", Claudia breathed out. "Only my parents know, but…I've been near one. It was summer four, maybe five years past, we were visiting family and I was playing in the garden when all got cold, so cold…" Claudia shivered.

"I didn't know what was going on or why that thin man was standing on top of me, floating there in his black cloak, looking so gloomy and dreadful and the flowers I had been picking were dying in my hands, ice forming on the soil beneath my legs. Ice during summer!" Charles passed a hand over her shoulders, hugging her.

"I remember becoming sadder and sadder, kept thinking of granny who had died earlier that year and how I had felt about it, how I had felt when daddy had admonished me for whatever stupid thing I had done, or mum…It was horrible, just horrible", She wiped tears away from her cheek. "I couldn't understand why dad looked so afraid of the floating, hooded man, or why he had his wand out, yelling at me to get behind him, or why mum kept asking him what was wrong, like she couldn't even see the floating man in the black cloak. Last thing I remember is dad's wand emitting a white light which transformed into a glowing bunny rabbit…" she straightened up. "ever since then mum's been calling him her big bunny."

"Eeeewwww!" Charles and Dreogan let out, making all four of them laugh.

"We're way past curfew."

"I like the breeze…it's refreshing after…" Dreogan whispered.

"Mr. G…Dreogan", came Professor Horsewood's voice, caring and worried. "It's time for you all to head to sleep, please", She turned and left, without waiting for a reply.

"My idea or…did she sound not hostile?" Dreogan asked, perplexed.

"We must get bread from the kitchens!" Charles beamed making Dreogan restrain another snorting laugh.

The corridors were eerily silent the next morning, everyone was numb and scared. People were so lost to their thoughts they even ignored Dreogan, as he walked the arched pathways to the Great Hall.

Upon entering the Great Hall, he was greeted by another event he never thought would ever happen. The entirety of the Gryffindor table started cheering him and clapping their hands fervently.

"Uhm…what?" he stuttered, astonished.

"After last night you are considered an "honourary" Gryffindor", a Gryffindor third year told him. "Which is weird 'cause of who you are and your house and all. Gryffindors love bravery and loyalty, to Hogwarts and each other, and you displayed it in spades we think", He grinned.

"Not to mention some amazing father-irritation skillz there", Claudia chuckled.

"Irritating father was the easy part, finding out how to not anger Azrail and avoid torture was the hard part. It seems my very existence set him off", Dreogan shrugged.

"I should enjoy my newfound popularity, it won't last will it", Dreogan laughed.

"Don't expect any such popularity from my house", Emerick told him.

"Oh good, some stability!" Dreogan quipped.

"I hope your family loses", a Gryffindor fifth year girl told him, giving him a goblet of orange juice; he poured the juice in his glass made of wood.

"That makes everyone, including me."

When Charles joined them, Claudia motioned them to follow her leading them to an empty classroom on the first floor.

"You noticed it right? Last night?" she said locking the door behind them, with a flick of her wrist and "Colloportus."

"Last night? Notice what? I was rather preoccupied with the possibility of imminent death", Charles said.

"There was chaos, I dunno what you're referring to", Emerick shrugged.

"When Cillian exploded after your rejection of him, the Headmistress stood up almost impulsively looking all enraged", she told them, looking at Dreogan.

"The professors were all trying to close the portal, they were all standing up at that point", Emerick noted.

"I know, and yet to that point she still sat on her chair like nothing was the matter", Claudia replied.

"I dunno, by then I was storming out of the Great Hall", Dreogan said.

"Well she stood up, looking like she could commit murder and I bet you anything, she is the one who both opened the portal and closed it after", Claudia told them.

"You know what we need?" Emerick shook his right hand's index finger emphasizing his words. "We need a space we can go and keep notes and stuff, without anyone able to overhear us. Can't be talking about this sort of stuff in corridors and classrooms."

"I guess you're right. There's always the room of requirement. Not many know of it", Claudia said.

"The room of what now?" Charles asked, surprised.

"I've not heard of it", Emerick nodded.

"I have, Azrail used it for his experiments while he was in Hogwarts". Dreogan replied.

"See! Half of us don't know it", Charles grinned. "How do we even find it?"

"I'll show you, during the lunch break", Claudia told him.

"Exciting! How do you know of it?" Charles beamed.

"A first-year Gryffindor showed us, she was bragging about how much her older sister had taught her. Know-it-all git", Claudia scoffed.

Emerick snorted.

Charles snorted.

Dreogan snorted.

Charles gave a second snort.

They all burst laughing.

"For now, the most exciting lesson of them all…History of Magic", Emerick said, bored.

"Good class as any to catch up on my transfiguration homework", Claudia said, looking smug.

"I thought you finished it already?" Dreogan asked.

"I did. So, naturally, I asked the professor for more. I want to try becoming an animagus next year instead of in the sixth year. So, I'm learning as much as I can now", she explicated.

"Oh, that sounds interesting!" Dreogan cried. "What's required?"

"Well, I dunno…yet. Want me to tell you when I do find out?" Both Dreogan and Charles nodded energetically. "Yeah, for sure!" they stated simultaneously.

They walked to the History of Magic classroom.

"Today we'll learn of Medieval England, her greatest wizards and witches and the great lengths they went to evade Muggles", Mr. Beans said in the same achromatic, same-level voice. "Dod Log went as far as using spells to alter the perception of Muggles and wizardfolk to avoid contact."

"That's an unusual name, even for a wizard, Sir", Charles noted.

"Indeed, back to the lecture", Mr. Beans replied.

"His voice can kill the dead", Charles whispered to Dreogan.

"History of Magic, the only lesson that makes death by burning preferable and exciting", Claudia quipped.

Dreogan swallowed a laugh.

"Yes, Mr. Gaunt. Something you want to add to the lesson?" Mr. Beans asked him.

"Is it true sir, that even if the Muggles managed to catch one of us, some enjoyed the pyre?"

"As recorded in our history books, several of us would allow themselves to be captured, cast a flame-freezing charm, rendering the flames harmless and would enjoy a good tickling sensation. The first one to do this was Wendelin the Weird. Dod log was the opposite, inventor of the Confundus spell, amongst others, he would do his outmost to avoid Humans. Some theorized him to be a necromancer who used the necromancer's cup to talk to the souls of the dead. Although there aren't enough collaborating sources on this to make it a concrete Historical fact and the necromancer's cup has never been seen or found."

Dreogan soon lost interest in the lesson, keeping notes where and when he had to.

"Sometimes wizards chose silly names for themselves, Dod Log…" Charles shook his head in disbelief. The lesson had finished, and they were going to the next class.

"And even more horrible sense of fashion", Claudia remarked, looking at a bunch of third-years going to Hogsmeade in casual clothes.

"I don't know, I kinda sorta like the rainbow pants and navy-blue shirt-in-robe that boy's wearing!" Charles remarked, grinning.

"Atrocity!" Claudia tilted her head up, tightening her lips as if she was angry at them, refusing to look at them.

"So easy to get you to swear in Italian", Charles giggled.

"The British Wizarding world could use some Italian fashion and design, some gusto, eh!"

"Ain't no one caring, it's how we are!" Emerick rebutted her.

"Humphf."

"To more important matters", Dreogan interrupted them.

"Follow me", Claudia told them, heading to the Grand staircase.

She walked them to the seventh-floor corridor, at the end of it.

"Now what?" Emerick looked around, seeing no doors or entrances.

Claudia turned to Dreogan. "Picture, in your mind, as clearly as you can what you need of the room. Be as specific as you can make it", she told him.

"What do we need?" Dreogan thought aloud before going silent. "We need a room only us four can access, so that we can gather and analyze evidence that prove the Headmistress is being controlled by my father, without anyone being able to eavesdrop on us."

Not a moment later the end of the corridor leading to a dead end started splitting up, creating a doorway.

"Woah!" Charles, Emerick and Dreogan breathed out at the same time.

"Wicked!" Charles low-whistled.

They entered the room well-lit by large ceiling-hanging torches as well as smaller ones pinned on the red-bricked walls, divided into four section by four omni-arched, green Florentine columns.

Each section had various different tools for writing, cataloguing, and classifying like parchment rolls, quills, inks and blackboards.

"This is perfect!" Dreogan beamed.

"And I bet you anything if you thought it, it'll be protected by magic against anyone listening in on us", Claudia mentioned.

"And only us four have access to this?"

"If that is how you thought it up, yeah", Claudia nodded. "Although I think it's that no one else can use the room of requirement while we are using it and no one else will have access to this variation of it."

"But others can make their versions of it?"

"If we're not using it at the time? Yeah", she confirmed.

"This is soooo cush!" Charles beamed, grinning wide.

"Amazing! It has everything we need", Emerick stated, looking around at all the stationary, desks, chairs, sofas and even a fireplace for warmth.

"Dreogan walked up to one of the blackboards, picked up a chalk and wrote "Evidence", at the top, before continuing to write everything he thought proved their case.

"What else? Do we know something else?" he asked them.

Claudia walked up to the blackboard, picking up another, different coloured, chalk.

 _Polyjuice potion?_

 _Imperius curse?_

She wrote.

 _How does he retain control?_

Emerick wrote.

"I know our name!" Dreogan exclaimed suddenly, looking at Claudia.

"Eh?" She raised an eyebrow, like Charles usually did.

"Last year, you said we were the only multi-House gang in school and that we needed a name for it", he reminded her, beaming. "I know our name!"

"Oooh! Exciting! What is it?" Charles jumped up from his chair.

"Simple, Hogwarts' Protectors."

"Not the most original of names", Claudia stated, disappointed. "But I guess it works."

"It's House-neutral, that's good", Emerick said.

"I'm open to suggestions, if you have anything better", Dreogan shrugged, not the least bit offended. "Just thought that it doesn't mention any one House and it's what we're trying to do, protect and serve Hogwarts."

"Yeah, it works", Claudia smiled.

They continued discussing and writing ideas and what details they thought went along to providing proof Cillian was controlling Mary Adams.

Hours later, after the day was over, Dreogan entered his dorm, going to his four-poster bed with the green Slytherin snake tapestry, providing some privacy, hanging from the bed's top he saw a sealed envelope.

"A letter?" He thought aloud, picking up the white envelope, neatly placed on his pillow, at exactly the same distance from all sides of it. "Probably another one calling me a blood-traitor or something…" He opened it.

 _Who are you?_

 _The sum of four, and time. To find who you are, find Gryffindor's greatest shame. The deed he hid, undoing his work._

 _Do you know who you are? Dreogan Gaunt, your father's choice of a name? Dreogan, a name as old as Gryffindor, with two meanings. One your brother aspires to, one your father demands of you._

 _Do you know who you are?_

8


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6: Gryffindor's Shame

"It's been nearly a month and a half, why are you still trying to decipher that letter?" Charles inquired.

They had just finished eating breakfast in the Great Hall and were making their way to the Transfiguration classroom, walking through the vaulted corridors.

"Because I am getting sick and tired of not knowing stuff about me", Dreogan replied, irked.

"I wonder who could have left it, still. Has to be a Slytherin, no one else knows your Common room's password", Emerick stated.

"Head of House does, I bet other Professors can learn it if they wanted to."

"I doubt Professor Rawthorn knows this kind of information about me", Dreogan said.

"Harold Nott?" Charles asked next.

"I thought so too, but by his reaction when I…asked him, he didn't leave the letter or was the one who composed it", Dreogan shook his head.

"He could be lying?" Charles insisted.

"I didn't give him Verasaterum, but I don't think he was lying."

"Besides, you can bet if it was him, he'd be taunting you about how much more he knows about you than you", Emerick pointed out.

"Hmmm, yeah true", Charles conceded.

"Did you hear?" Dreogan heard two first years whispering behind them. "Azrail didn't join his father in the battle of Xi'an", said a short, auburn-haired, green eyed Gryffindor boy.

"Yeah, but even so, Cillian didn't lose, it was a long battle which ended in a stalemate, with lots of casualties on both sides", replied the second boy, a dark-haired Ravenclaw with an arched nose and blue eyes.

"You'd think he'd want his father to win", said the Gryffindor.

"The Imperium Arcana was never my brother's desire", Dreogan said before he could stop himself. So far, the two boys hadn't noticed who was in front of them. "Besides, he won a battle in Wales, devastating the Irish, UK and Spanish Aurors."

Had they been hit by electricity or a thunder, their surprised jump backwards, would have been less pronounced.

They looked at him, afraid.

"I want Azrail and Cillian defeated and dead as much as you do", he tried to assuage them.

"Doubt it, my mother was an Auror", said the Ravenclaw boy.

"There's no point, let's go", Claudia cut in.

"Traitor", whispered the Gryffindor boy.

"What did you say to me, half-pint?" Claudia snapped her head at him, enraged.

"What are you doin' hanging around with the enemy's brother?" he replied, feeling bolder.

"He possesses more honour, loyalty and bravery than you can even begin to dream of. Now, leave before I transform you into a cockroach or somethin'", she said with a piercing gaze and an iron demeanor.

"You'd be expelled for that!" The Ravenclaw tried his luck at intimidating her.

Claudia, slowly and with purpose, got her wand out. "Oh Professors, I…I – hick- I felt so threatened, I did! Two strong-looking boys against little ole' me! I was soooo mortified they'd hurt me!" She pretended to cry. "Sure, ya wanna risk it, peepsquicks? Think of the humiliation alone, transfigured into a roach, by a girl", she said, her expression back to brimstone and hellfire.

"What humiliation! No one would know!" the Gryffindor replied, trying to hide his fear.

Her lips turned into an evil sneer. "I'm a popular girl, with lots of girl friends in all four houses. Trust me, there won't be a person or even pet or stone in Hogwarts that won't know of it after I'm done with you two", She never broke eye contact with the Gryffindor boy.

Dreogan couldn't help a snort.

"Now, beat it and try to do your house more justice in the future, yeah?" She dismissed them.

"You're mah friend, but you're scary sometimes!" Charles laughed.

"Good, I dislike people messing with my friends", she stated.

Dreogan smiled his gratitude.

"Why wouldn't your brother arrive in time?" Emerick asked some time later.

"I dunno", Dreogan shrugged.

"Maybe he didn't arrive in time? I mean a raven can only fly so fast", Charles asked.

"While he does prefer raven travel to apparate, apparition is instantaneous and during the battle of Tours he proved he can apparate. Had he wanted to be there he would have been there, fought and been back for supper."

"Maybe he was after something else?" Claudia offered.

"He never does or does not do anything without a reason. He wasn't in China for a reason, but as to what his goal may be I dunno", Dreogan considered.

"Why though? I can't imagine him wanting Cillian to lose or the Coalition of Magical Governments to win", Emerick pondered.

"Search me. I don't know what goes on in that sick mind of his."

"Why indeed", Professor Jordan's voice came from behind a column, just before he appeared in front of them, his left hand, as always, gloved to the elbow. "It would seem your brother's agenda may no longer be the same as your father's anymore?"

"If it ever was, sir. Father does not realize Azrail is…his own, demented man. He sees him as a tool or a weapon to yield."

"Ah, astute observation, Mr. Dreogan. The question then becomes is your half-brother aware of this?" Professor Jordan seemed…happy at the conversation.

"I think…I think he is beginning to, Professor."

"You'll be late for class. Either of you may be trying for your respective Quidditch teams, mayhap?"

"I'm not the most athletic person, in Hogwarts", Emerick shrugged his shoulders.

"I'm going to!" Charles beamed.

"Of course, you will", Dreogan laughed. "I dislike broom-flying."

"I'm thinking about it. I kind of like the idea of bludgering boys off their…broomsticks", she smiled slyly.

"That's the spirit! Well off I go, good day to you all", Professor Jordan left.

"You're thinking about it?" Charles asked.

"Uhu, why?"

"Oh, nothing. You'll be good at it, I think", Charles shrugged.

"Damn straight!" They laughed. "Thanks."

"I wonder who will win the Hogwarts dueling championship this year?" Emerick mused.

"Probably a seventh-year, again", Charles groaned.

"Oh, I dunno. Angel Yang did really well last year, and he was only a fifth-year", Dreogan said, semi-excited.

"Yeah, I'd love it if my second cousin once removed could win this year", Emerick beamed.

"Cousin? I didn't know you two were related. He's so cool! And an animagus to boot", Charles nodded.

"Yeah, through our mothers' side. His mum was studying magical creatures and his dad saved her from a Penghou. Or at least that's the story of how they met. Funny thing, both my parents are muggles, yet mum's sister's a witch and I'm born magical", Emerick gave a smug grin. "His mum's a children's books writer now and his dad's a spellcaster at Gringotts."

"Woah! So cool! Spellcaster?" Charles talked fast.

"Curse-breakers make sure there's no curses on items or buildings, and if there are, they break, remove or undo them. Spellcasters do the opposite, they add spells on items or places, to secure them against intrusion or the like. Shiro Yang makes sure vaults and items in the bank remain protected."

"Cool!" Charles exclaimed, entering the transfiguration classroom.

"Sit down class, today we'll learn Avifors. This is what you need to know about the theory before we get started on learning the rest,", Professor Horsewood told them. They took notes then learned the incantation and wand movement as well as the transfiguration alphabet's word for it they needed to know.

"Well…that was funny!" Charles tried containing a laugh. Class had ended, and they were exiting.

Dreogan threw him an angry look.

"Come now, it was hilarious", Emerick said laughing. "Your wand creating that half-plucked, black chicken that egged on the Professor's head was downright the funniest thing I've ever seen."

"I don't think I've ever seen anyone as enraged as she was, before today", Claudia affirmed.

"I still don't know why sometimes it performs as it should and sometimes it fails so spectacularly."

"Might have to do with your emotions, wands are quasi-sentient after all", Claudia guessed.

Dreogan shrugged, exasperated. "I'm going to the library, wanna search something."

He headed to the library, alone. "Hello, sir. As pale as ever."

"Compliments will get you nowhere, Mr. Gaunt. What do you want?" Thorson tried not to smile.

I was wondering, sir if you know anything about Godric Gryffindor being greatly ashamed of or for anything he did?"

The librarian gazed deeply at him, making direct eye contact and maintaining it for a few seconds. "All humans have done things they regret, but I fear I have no book in this library containing what you describe", He said, finally.

"Oh…where would I search if I wanted to find something about it, sir?" Dreogan asked, disappointed.

"I think…you'll be better off in History of Magic, third row", Thorson replied, with a faint smirk.

"Thank you, sir. I know where it is."

After searching in the section of the library with books on History of Magic and History, and having found nothing, he straightened up. "Wait a second…" Exiting the Library, he made his way the short distance to the History of Magic classroom, next door.

Knocking on the door he entered the classroom. Sixth years were having a lesson.

"Yes, what is it, Mr. Gaunt?" Mr. Binns asked, in the same, unchanging, droning tone of voice.

"Oh, sorry Professor. I just have one question, please? What is Godric Gryffindor's greatest shame, if you know?" Dreogan asked, trying not to sound as excited as he was.

Mr. Beans eyed him in the same manner Mr. Thorson had. "The last person to have asked me this, do you know who it was?"

"No, sir", Dreogan shook his head.

"The only person in fact, ever", Mr. Binns paused for affect, realizing that for the first time in his career, alive or dead, he had everyone's undivided attention. "Your father."

"What – what did you tell him, sir?" Dreogan nearly choked on his own saliva.

"Same thing I'll tell you. I know nothing of what could possibly shame such a man to such a degree. There is nothing of it in the History books. The library is the only place, in this school, you might find something or anything about the subject."

"But Mr. Thors…oh that…" He run out. "Thanks Professor!"

"You…didn't mean…the section…", he panted.

"No", Still maintaining a serious face.

"You meant Mr. Beans", Dreogan continued panting, from the excitement as well as the running.

"Yes, calm your breath. Answers are not going anywhere, once you have them", The librarian kept his serious visage.

"You said "there's no book in this library, but I hadn't asked you about a book", Dreogan said.

Mr. Thorson smiled, wickedly.

"There was a book, wasn't there? And my father stole it."

"That is my belief, even if I can't prove it. That your father stole the book", Thorson nodded with his head.

"What was its tittle, sir?" Dreogan leaned in the librarian's desk, unable to control himself, anymore.

"Gryffindor's Greatest shame."

"You could have told me this from the start!" Dreogan whined.

"I could have, indeed. But then you would not have used your brain to find out. And I would not have had my bit of fun."

"What did the book say?"

"That I don't know, despite popular belief I've not read all of the books stored in this place…yet."

"Thank you, sir", Dreogan left the library, so lost in his thoughts he bumped on a Slytherin girl on his way out, without even noticing.

He headed to the Dungeons, and the deserted, due to the time of day, Slytherin common room.

"Let us see, how powerful House elf magic really is. No human can apparate inside Hogwarts without permission", He breathed out. "Averill!"

Not a second later the House Elf popped in front of him.

"Yes…Master's son?" He said with no lack of disgust in his voice.

"I order you to bring me the book "Gryffindor's Greatest Shame" from father's library, in his study."

"No, sir", Averill shook his pointy-eared head.

"What do you mean no? I am your Master's son, you can't deny me when I've given you an order!" Dreogan felt anger rise within.

"I can ignore it if it contradicts one of my Master's orders. And that book is no longer in Master Gaunt's private library. He sold it to a close friend and ally", Averill sneered, happy with himself at being able to deny Dreogan his order.

"Who? Tell me who!" Dreogan felt like he wanted to choke the House Elf.

"Master told me "Never tell anyone who, Averill. No one ever!" Master's son, Azrail tortured me to tell him who, but I never told him. I would never betray Master's confidence", Averill said proud of himself.

"Ugh! Damn you and your fucking loyalty to my father, leave."

Averill dissaparated.

"Okay, that letter can't mean that book if I have no way of acquiring or reading it. Unless they didn't know…no, can't be they know something like that about me, but don't know where a book is!" He is mumbling to himself, pacing back and forth in the common room.

"Maybe they never meant the book? Maybe I'm supposed to read between the lines and piece it together?" He took out the envelop with the letter he kept, always, in his inside pocket in his school robes.

"The sum of four, and time, to find out who you are, find Gryffindor's greatest shame..", He reread the letter.

"I don't think the rest matters. Sum of four and time. All his work? How could one deed or action undo a lifetime's worth of work when you're Godric Gryffindor? He valued courage, loyalty and Honour above all else. He was friends with Salazar Slytherin, but their friendship deteriorated when Slytherin wanted to admit only pure-blooded kids in Hog…his greatest shame…undoing his work…LIES! TIME!" He felt electrified.

"I know what Harold Nott was bragging about!" His heart raced, his mind run faster than light. "I know what that reporter was going to write about!"

7


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7: Somewhen the Timeline is

"Fuck, I'm going to be late for potions…" His lips forming an evil grin of self-contentment he walked, slowly, deliberately to potions. "Oh, by the gods old or new, I'm going to enjoy smacking three birds with one very big, proverbial stone!" He laughed to himself.

He entered the potions classroom, like he owned the place.

"Oh, Ms. Adams, how good to see you. Let me guess, Professor Turney sick yet again?" He said.

"You're late, sit down", She said, irritated.

"I have two theories, I wanted to run by you, first. I'll sit down after", Charles, Emerick, Claudia and pretty much the whole class' jaws lay open, their eyes bulging out by what they were seeing and hearing.

"I got an interesting letter about a month ago", He proceeded to reading the letter, from memory. "But the thing is…none of it after "Undoing his life's work" even matters. So, here's my theory. My good-for-nothing-asshole of a father, got in business with the Notts, he made a fortune with it, but his only care of that whole transaction was to get them to give him their "true time turner", a piece of magical technology they had perfected a hundred plus years before, And of course had at the time gone to Azkaban for, since time-turner tech. is strictly regulated by the Ministry.

"Regular time-turners can only go back up to a few hours without damaging the timeline or the user. The real time turner allowed one to go back in time for as long as they so desired and anywhen in the timeline they wanted. So, my father got his hands on it, and used it to alter and influence people and events to unify the four founder's bloodlines to form…him and me. Gryffindor's greatest shame was that he did have children…and all of them were squibs, void of magic. His greatest shame was that for all his work in admitting and accepting muggle-born and half-blood kids in school, he hid his magicless kids from the world. My father found out and kept influencing things until he had the other three founding families bonded in the Gaunt family tree. Then, he tracked down my mother's bloodline and…raped her, couldn't very well attempt to marry her since she was a muggle, so he got what he wanted from her like the coward he is.

"The child that was never meant to be. I was never meant to be, and would not have been, if my father hadn't messed up the entire timeline from the eleventh century to today to get it done, to have the four oldest British wizarding families combined to make me."

There was such silence in the classroom one could hear the students' heartbeats.

The Headmistress' face darkened in seething rage. "It is so far-fetched one might make it…possible, believable even. What was your second theory? Something less…demented I hope", His lips curved in a self-pleased smirk, never breaking eye contact with her.

"It is…very convenient how Professor Turney is sick, always, during second year potions class, ma'am."

Claudia didn't think it possible, yet Adams' face darkened yet more, now almost deforming in anger. "He's a very old man. I'm sure within a month or more he'll be okay, again."

"Oh, sooner than that. I'm sure", Dreogan smirked, never breaking eye contact with her.

"We'll see", she stated.

"What is more interesting than that is what Azrail is going to do when he no longer needs the deception the Imperium Arcana gives him. Or our father. My brother is a psychopath so, I'm sure he is going to be _very_ creative when he decides enough is enough, time to come out of his father's shadow", He sat down, smiling.

"Cillian Gaunt is a grown man and a powerful wizard. Azrail is little more than a child who likes killing people. A tool in your father's arsenal."

"If that is what my father believes…he is a dead man", Dreogan shrugged his shoulders in as much apathy as he could muster.

"Where was I, before I was so rudely interrupted?" She tried leaving her spectacles on the desk, but they fell out of the edge, smashing on the floor's granite tiles. "Oh, yes. Wiggenweld potion."

"Uhm, sorry ma'am", Claudia said. "We covered the revision of Wiggenweld potion last week. You were telling us about the Girding potion."

"Oh, right you are, Mrs Russo", Mary Adams carried out the rest of the lesson, in which Claudia's correction was by far not the last one.

Charles, Emerick and Claudia waited for Professor Adams to exit the class, acting all innocent like, then they grabbed Dreogan by his sleeves near his wrists and elbows and dragged him all the way to the seventh floor and the room of requirement.

"Uhm…I can walk, you know", he teased them.

"Okay, spill it!" Charles stood there, arms crossed in front of his chest, ankles flexing up and down. He was ready to jump and fly from all the tension. "How did you come to this conclusion?"

Dreogan told them what happened in the library and his thought process in the Slytherin common room. "Then I remembered a book I had seen last year, during detention. It was about wizarding families and someone, my father by the hand writing, had written "Lies!" next to a passage about Godric Gryffindor having left no heirs to anyone's knowledge. It all makes sense now."

"How? How does it make sense?" Charles flexed his ankles more, up and down, left and right.

"If that reporter had published that story last year, assuming this is what he was going to print, with evidence to boot, his father and the Notts would have been sent on a one-way trip to Azkaban. It is beyond illegal to mess with time or the timeline", Emerick said, beginning to understand.

"My brother knew Cillian would…could never allow it, which would give him the opportunity to rob the Ministry."

"But now, now if they "fix" the timeline…what happens to you?" Charles asked, worried.

"They can't, and they won't", Dreogan said.

"What? Why? I mean…oh, I don't know this is making my head hurt!" Charles sighed deeply, pouting.

"Cillian messed with the timeline on so many levels, in so many different years and eras and altering so many peoples' lives to merge the bloodlines of the Hogwarts' founders, to…create Dreogan, that "fixing" it will have irremediable and enforceable consequences across the whole of Humanity from the Eleventh century to "now". The timeline is as it is exactly because Cillian made the changes he made". Claudia tried to explain. "I mean, imagine the ministry sending back Aurors from the department of mysteries, altering something in the twelfth century and then Harry Potter, Dumbledore, you, me, the Ministry or the very Aurors sent back have never existed. Or Hitter or the renaissance never happened, or the discovery of the Americas by the Europeans as it did, when it did. We don't know, and we can't know every change Cillian committed and therefore we can't alter them without ruining everything. Cillian is a genius in how he did this, he has made sure no one can "undo" Dreogan."

"Why tell…him, though, that you know?" Emerick asked.

"War's not going well, not for the Coalition. So, hopefully now Cillian and Azrail start fighting each other, and maybe they end up killing each other", Dreogan explained.

"You know what your brother's doing, right? Why he's joining some battles and not all?" Claudia asked.

"Playing both sides against the middle?" Emerick asked.

"The Imperium Arcana, Cillian's war provides him with cover to do whatever he is doing in the shadows. I fear for when he no longer requires that cover."

"Yeah, that's what I think he's doing, making sure the war goes on forever, making sure neither Cillian nor the Ministry win, anytime soon."

"Christmas is coming, though. That's always nice", Charles changed the subject.

"I was thinking…" Dreogan begun to say.

"You can come stay with us, if you want", Charles told him.

"I was thinking, what if y'all come stay with me in the Manor, for Christmas?" Dreogan finished his sentence.

"Would it be safe? No offense or anything", Claudia asked, uncertain.

"Oh, yeah. The ministry has raided the place I grew up in so many times there's no traps or anything of danger in there. And there's enough Aurors patrolling the grounds surrounding the building to create an army. I don't think either father or siblings will come around knocking. It'd be nice to have some fun in that place for a change", Dreogan said.

"My parents will want to spend some time with fam…", Claudia said but Dreogan interrupted her.

"Uhm, I don't think you understand. It's a manor. It has over fifty bedrooms, each with its own bathroom, and house-elves as servants. When I said y'all can come visit, I meant with families included", Dreogan batted his eyelashes with a mischievous smirk.

"Oh, that'd be wicked!" Charles and Emerick exclaimed.

"Are you sure you have enough house-elves in there?" Claudia wondered.

"Twenty – thirty or so."

"Yeah, that's enough", Emerick laughed.

"I'll talk to dad, he can convince mum better than me. Because she'll want to visit family in Italy again", Claudia didn't seem to happy at the prospect.

"Are your eyes okay?" Dreogan asked Charles.

"Yeah, why not?"

"Oh, nooooothing. I just thought they might have popped out of their sockets earlier", Dreogan managed to maintain a serious look.

"Jerkwad! You come in the classroom and start talking that way to the Headmistress and you're teasing me! The gall I tell you!" They all laughed.

"How did you think about this strategy? You know, telling your father you know what's up, without telling him?" Claudia asked, astonished.

"Remember some three-four days ago, we were passing by Professor Jordan's fifth year Defense against the dark arts class?" Claudia nodded.

"Well he said something which stuck with me and inspired it."

"What? What?" Charles went back to his ankle-leg-shifting motion.

"Dueling is as much strategy as it is spell work. Show them one hand, strike with the other. Cast two spells, only show the one you want countered."

"I don't know, but I heard he used to teach all years' Defense against the dark arts until two years ago", Emerick said.

"I heard he came to work here, because Professor Horsewood asked him to."

"Which hand are you showing him?" Claudia asked him. "Azrail or that you know?"

"Whichever one gets him", Dreogan shrugged.

They made some notes in the blackboards containing their evidence of Cillian controlling Mary Adams before heading to the courtyard.

"It's gotten chilly", Claudia remarked, rubbing her hands around her shoulders.

"It's nigh winter, want the top of my robes?" Dreogan offered.

"Thanks", Claudia took the garment. "It would appear you are the only gentleman around here", she teased the other two.

"I'm a boy, I'll be a gentleman when I grow up!" Charles poked his tongue at her.

"Right, and Chimeras will fly", Claudia quipped.

"God, I hope not!" Dreogan said, making them laugh.

"I need to go finish up my Herbology and Defense against the dark arts homework, I'll see you all later", Emerick told them and left after exchanging fist-bumps.

The three of them continued to chat for a while, until afternoon classes. After eating dinner, Dreogan headed to his dorm. There he found a parcel on his bed, neatly wrapped up in fine wrapping paper.

Upon opening it he saw the book. Gryffindor's Greatest shame, and a piece of paper stuck inside it.

 _Read now! The article that brought us under attack!_

 _The Boy that wasn't meant to be!_

"Are you sure it was a good idea, sending the info on where to find the reporter to the Ministry?" Charles asked, holding the Daily Prophet's latest issue.

"I don't know who sent the parcel, or put that piece of paper in there, but yeah it was a good idea. He won't say anything I don't already know. Besides, I didn't send it to the Ministry. I just shared it to Professor Horsewood, Deputy Headmistress, what action she took after, is her business", Dreogan gave a sly smile.

"I read it, it says everything you already know. I particularly liked the "sources near Cillian Gaunt" bit", Claudia said.

"Yeah, aka my brother. Now, my father should be fuming. His move", Dreogan's sly smile widened.

"Did you read the book?" Emerick asked.

"It also said what I thought, except Gryffindor's greatest shame wasn't him having squib kids, it was him hiding the truth."

"That's good, I'd be devastated if it wasn't so", Claudia said.

"I don't think it undid his work. His shame propelled him to help even more people, students and wizardfolk and even muggles."

A week later, they were in the room of requirement, writing and discussing away.

"Who sends you these clues, though? And why are they doing it anonymously?" Claudia scratched her head.

"I don't know, I've made every scenario possible I could think of, in my mind and I just can't figure it out",

"I've been paying attention to the Headmistress, she doesn't seem to be drinking from only one cup or flask. I think we can rule out Polyjuice potion", Emerick sounded disappointed.

"And we can probably rule out the Imperius curse, your father would need to cast her with it frequently, from what I've been reading about it. Even with that portal spell of Azrail's", Claudia added.

"Lovely, we got squat…" Dreogan dropped himself on a chair.

"We'll find something, I know we will", Charles tried cheering him up.

"More important thing is…" Charles started saying.

"Quidditch trials tomorrow, and Hufflepuff versus Ravenclaw day after, you have mentioned it once or twice…" Dreogan finished it for him.

"Or more, much more!" Emerick teased.

"I'm not sure, but I think even the stones and mortar of this room know, by now", Claudia joined in the fun.

They laughed.

Exiting the room of requirement and heading to the lower floors they saw commotion and people running about, laughing.

"What's happened?" Charles asked a fellow Hufflepuff boy, a fourth-year.

"Didn't you hear? Someone unleashed a crate-full of ever-bashing boomerangs and fanged frisbees on the Slytherin quidditch team during their training and trials. It's chaos out there!" He told them heading towards the training grounds, outside.

"That should be interesting!" Dreogan exclaimed, walking faster. "Let's go."

They arrived in the training grounds to see the Slytherin team players trying to avoid the objects either on their brooms or on foot, in vain, as the boomerangs and the frisbees kept smashing in on them, brooms lay splintered on the grass.

Right then Harold Nott flew inches above their heads, in a state of panic, trying to evade an ever-bashing boomerang, which had taken flight after him. It caught him on his shoulder, throwing him on the ground. His broom smashed up against the castle's walls.

"Expulso!" Professor Willows destroyed the boomerang, while Harold was pushed about a meter into the ground, in a fetus position.

The four of them were in stiches as were many other students gathered around, with Professors running around trying to immobilize or destroy the prank objects.

"Aresto momento!" Professor Adams screamed at the top of her voice, causing all of the flying objects, students on brooms included, to stop in place as if frozen.

"Everyone go inside the castle and those responsible better hope they're not caught, or I'll personally perform the crucatius curse on them for this insult to Slytherin!" she hissed besides herself.

"Professor, weren't you in Ravenclaw?" Dreogan smirked.

"INSIDE! NOW!" she screeched.

"Th-that sounds a bit extreme, ma'am", a brave second year Gryffindor girl told her, while some of the professors eyed her weird.

"Detention for a month!" she yelled, leaving.

"Let's go", Dreogan whispered to his friends.

"I just thought about it", Emerick told them, in the Great Hall. "Edible, and Wearable."

"Later", Dreogan motioned with his eyes at Ariana and Anneke approaching.

"Why would we want to eavesdrop? We're friends, no?" Anneke said.

"Sure", Dreogan replied, dryly. "See you later", He turned heading over to the Hufflepuff table.

"You should come sit with your house", Anneke told him, following him.

"The people I like, my friends are here", he said, stubbornly, chewing on a piece of apple pie.

"We're your house, your family."

"I'm an orphan, then. Why do you suddenly care what I do?" Think I don't know you're whispering behind my back?" He confronted her, tired of her attempts at mind games.

"The whispering would stop if you embraced your family. I'm only looking after you as Slytherin do."

"You have a very perverse notion of what a family or friendship is. Leave me be. I will never embrace Slytherin or my family", He turned his back at her.

"You will, when your super cool brother leaves no one else alive", She left.

"What's her fucking problem?" Claudia clenched her fists. "First, she wants to be my friend, then she ignores I even exist!"

"I'm not sure she knows what she wants", Dreogan shrugged.

"Fuck her, I'm done with her", Claudia said, in half Italian half English, returning to her rhubarb sponge cake.

"Since when is an abusive c…bad person "super cool"?" Dreogan made an expression as if he wanted to vomit.

"Probably since her father is one of them and her mother, that "strong-minded" person, is afraid of her own shadow and hides with stubbornness and venomous sarcasm pretending to be a "joke man"!

"Mother?" Dreogan chuckled.

Claudia grinned. "Of course, with a lil' bit of influence from you."

"You are a bad influence on her, you know", Charles laughed.

"I've never been accused of being a good influence on anyone", Dreogan barely got to finish his sentence.

Professor Adams stormed inside the Great Hall, pointing at him with her wand. "You! Heir to a glorious line. Who did this to my House's team!" she said.

"How would I know? I wasn't even outside when it happened", Dreogan replied calmly, over the stunned looks of the other students.

"Lies!" She came closer.

"I am many things, liar is not one of them", Dreogan remained calm.

"Professor, since when is Slytherin your team? Like Dreogan said earlier, you were Ravenclaw, are Ravenclaw", Claudia said.

"This isn't over! The culprits will be found and expelled", She left.

"War's not going well, I wager", Dreogan whispered. "Must be why he's losing it."

"I thought you said it wasn't going well for the Ministry?" Charles raised a brow.

"It wasn't, now it's not going well for him. The Coalition defeated him in Peru and California," Dreogan answered.

"It really is worldwide war…" Emerick noted, looking sad.

"It's Azrail, slowly proving who is in control, who can command an army and win battles. He fights with father, they win. He doesn't Cillian loses", Dreogan said.

"I bet more and more of Cillian's supporters are turning over to him", Claudia commented.

"Quicksand", Emerick commented. "The more Cillian struggles the faster he loses control."

"I'm not much hungry anymore, have you lot finished?" Claudia put down her spoon.

They nodded, leaving the Great Hall. Following the cold-stoned corridors they arrived back at what had become their headquarters, the room of requirement. Winter was upon them, casting gloomy shadows through cloudy weather and cool windows. Outside nature lay dormant and trees stood bare.

"As I was trying to say, what if the means of controlling her are either wearable or edible? Like robes or food or potion?" Emerick stood at the center of the room, as he had the idea. This being Dreogan's idea, inspired by Arthur and his round throne room. The person who had the idea stood at the center and the others around him, holding the conversation.

"Wouldn't a potion need to be re-given at regular intervals?" Charles asked, standing to the left.

"There are potions that can do that as far as I know, let you control someone", Claudia replied, standing on the left of Charles and at the right of Dreogan.

"Maybe father has spies that can do that, give her the potion every so often? Or a House-Elf in the kitchens?" Dreogan said.

"I think it's unlikely, sooner or later someone, a professor would notice", Claudia shook her head.

They continued conversing through the day, until dinner.

The few weeks left until Christmas saw the Headmistress' mood worsen, her reactions becoming more and more erratic. Yet evidence eluded them as time progressed and the Hogwarts express carried them back to London.

10


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8: Christmas In the Manor

The Manor buzzed with activity and sounds. Master's son Dreogan had returned not three days past and it had been a whirlwind.

"Gone through the rooms?" Dreogan asked, inspecting another room in the Manor.

"Yes, Master", A female House-Elf named Beeny with sparse, long strands of white hair, thick, abnormally lush-red painted lips and huge, amber eyes. She wore the usual grey, House-elf single-garment.

"Removed any and all enchanted, dangerous and illegal items the raids might have missed?" He ignored her resentful face.

"Yes, Master. Why not ask Averill, sir?" She tried her luck.

"Because he is my father's personal servant and answerable only to him. I can't trust him", Dreogan ended the matter, she dared not ask directly "why not ask someone else do these things?".

"You…you trust me, sir?" she asked, very surprised.

"I mistrust you less. You answer to me," he replied. "Where did you place all the items the Ministerial raids missed?"

"In the cellar's secret crypt, sir."

"The cellar has a secret crypt? Show me", he demanded.

"I can't, sir…Av…" He interrupted her.

"Averill's orders, I know."

"I'm sorry, sir", She started banging her head against a wall.

"Don't be, it's not your fault, and stop that, please", Years of servitude and slavery to humans had left the House-Elves not only completely obedient but in a state where if they were unable to fulfill an order, they would commit self-harm.

"Everything in the kitchen okay? Fully stoked?" He inspected the bathroom.

"We have enough food to feed an army, are we going to, sir?" Her eyes betrayed what she hoped he'd answer.

"We'll be feeding something positively worse!" He could not hide a grin. "Kids my age and younger along with their families."

"Oooh, I do not think Averill is going to like this, much", she said, closing the lights, after him, with a snap of her fingers.

"Oh, I know", The grin turned evil.

Dreogan continued the Manor's inspection and the questions at Beeny.

"How will the guests arrive, sir? Floo network? Apparition? Shall I clean the fireplaces better?" she asked.

"I imagine they'll take the M11. Have the house and rooms been cleaned?" She looked at him weird.

"Daily, sir", she replied, feeling insulted at the mere implication of the rooms, her charge for eighty years straight, being unclean.

"Sorry, just stressed", He turned into the green-tapestry corridor containing the various family emblems married into the Gaunts over the centuries.

"How many guests are we expecting, sir?"

He entered his room. A spacious, mostly empty place, with no toys, a bed, desk, and several shelves and a wardrobe. All of them in various shades of green and black.

"I don't know…These are certain. Claudia with her parents, Emerick with his younger sister and parents, Charles of course with his two younger brothers and parents and I told them all. Bring anyone you want, I have room", He smiled wide.

Beeny stumbled, nearly tripping over. "Oh, Averill will not like it, at all."

"I don't begin to care. There's more Aurors patrolling the grounds than there are in the Ministry. Cillian or his offspring won't be coming. I bet you Aurors placed an anti-apparition jinx around the house as well", Dreogan replied, sternly.

"No, no Averill won't like this at all!" Beeny kept chanting the same line.

Grabbing a sweater, he exited the room, heading to the stairs leading to the Manor's main floor, downstairs.

"Where is he, Averill!" Dreogan shouted.

"Yes, Master's son?" he said appearing in front of him, voice dripping with disgust.

"My friends are coming, they'll be staying for eleven days. I expect you and the others to afford them every courtesy and respect a guest of this house deserves. Even if all of them are either Muggles or Muggle-borns. Am I crystal clear?" he demanded of the House-Elf.

Both House Elves choked.

"Muggles! In this household!" Averill near screamed.

"Am I clear?" Dreogan pressed on. "I am every bit my father's son if and when I so desire to be, yes?" His lips deformed in a grimace of seething anger, brows furrowed together pressing down, eyes contracted.

"Preposterous…" Averill mumbled to himself.

"I will not ask again, I am also Azrail's half-brother. You and I share his torments. Only I have also learned some of his creations, yes?" If looks could kill, Dreogan's would have. He hated having to speak like this.

"Y-yes Master's son", Averill said reluctantly, leaving.

"What! That actually worked? I must bluff more often!" he exclaimed.

"They should be here any moment now!" He beamed, looking at his wrist-watch. He run downstairs, his feet making muffled noises on the velvet-wrapped wooden stairs.

"Candles! Why are the candles not burning!" he asked Beeny.

Beeny smacked the fingers of her left hand, and the candles flared up.

"Make sure they burn every night from sunset on. And I want some… THEY'RE HERE!" he yelled, unable to contain his excitement as sounds of cars pulling up the driveway came from outside.

"Their cars don't fly? How do they move?" Beeny, scratched her near-bold head.

"Electricity, "with auto-road rechargeable batteries" -he mimicked Charles' voice- and Galileo 2.0 sat nav doesn't hurt either", He opened the main entrance, African ebony wood, door.

"Gali-what?" Beeny felt lost, even more than usual.

"Nevermind!" He run outside. Three large SUV's had parked, turning off their engines.

Charles jumped out of the first one, a big red one, followed by his two brothers.

Bumping knuckles, he hugged each of the Blake boys, starting with Charles.

"You live here?" Charles low-whistled, his jaw hanging, eyes bulging.

"Yeah, me, the house-elves and…the past. But now you all are here!" Dreogan grinned wide.

"This place is huge!" Alfred jumped up and down, his mind racing on all the exploring that would of course occur. Every nook and cranny would have to be searched thoroughly.

"Oh my god!" William joined his brother in jumping up and down. "Let's go exploring!"

"William…oh what's the point…" Helen gave up, the two boys already having gone inside the Manor's interior.

"They're safe…so long as they don't find the secret crypt in the cellar…which even I don't know where it is!" Dreogan remarked.

"How well is it locked? These imps can get to everything", Helen wasn't being funny.

"Oh, I wouldn't worry…yet, they haven't gone to Hogwarts. Emerick!" His friend pulling out of the second, silver SUV caught his attention. Now it was he and Charles who jumped up and down, heading over.

"Saved by the friend", Peter Blake chuckled, exiting the vehicle.

Bumping fists with Emerick he looked around in the car. "Where's your sister?"

"Oh, she's coming with my cousins, she was visiting, she and Yoshi, my youngest cousin are same age, so they hang around a lot."

Then Claudia came out of the third, blue SUV with the transparent glass roof, while another car was coming up the road, in the near distance.

"You are all here!" Dreogan was beside himself with joy.

Emerick grinned, himself. "Yeah, and we brought family! Lots of 'em!"

"Uh oh…that sounds ominous!" Dreogan joked.

"Good, I hope you have room in that _lil'_ house of yours", Claudia smirked.

"Fifty rooms okay?"

"Fifty!" A younger girl, behind Emerick exclaimed. "I want to live here!" She had Claudia's long, black hair, with green eyes and freckles on her cheeks.

"Aaaaand that's my lil' cousin on my dad's side, Joy", The little girl, no older than seven, poked her tongue at her. "Say hello to Joy. And I hope between her and William and Alfred, you have the contents of the house insured."

Dreogan laughed. "Averill is going to have a stroke. No worries. Pleased to meet you, Joy. You can call me Dreogan…just call me Dreogan", He smiled at her.

"Joy Mayweather pleased to meet you. I like your name! Just-call-me-Dreogan!" She giggled.

"Yep, that's my cousin", Claudia scoffed.

"Claudia sounds like cloudy!" Joy giggled.

"How old is she?" Dreogan snorted.

"I'm right here ya know! I'm seven", Joy pressed her hands on her waist, pouting.

"And these are mah parents! Mummy and daddy!" She grinned.

"My sister Lucy and her husband, Jeremy", Claudia's father introduced them.

Joy, unable to restraint herself from exploring the Manor, hugged him tight, before running inside, in her navy-blue, knee-high skirt, apple-green tee shirt and riboned sandals.

"There she bloooooooows!" Emerick commented, laughing.

"She's certainly a handful!" Dreogan chuckled.

"I love her to bits, but she can drive me insane!" Claudia exasperated.

"Pleased to…make your acquaintance, Dreogan. Anyone else that will be spending Christmas with us in your house? In the Gaunt Manor?" Joy's mother asked.

Dreogan knew who she meant. "No one on my side. I have no one."

"It's chilly out here, shall we go in?" Jeremy passed his hand around his wife's waist.

"Anyone else coming on your end?" He looked at the three pairs of parents around him.

"Yeah, my cousin and his family and our grandparents, you did say bring family", Emerick said.

"And granny and grumps", Charles said.

Dreogan rubbed his hands together, grinning wide. "Averill's gonna have cascading heart attacks."

"They'll be arriving tomorrow evening", Emerick said.

"This is going to be amazeballs!" Dreogan and Charles exclaimed simultaneously.

They were almost inside when they heard a car coming up the driveway. "Oh, this should be grumps. Looks like he found the exit…eventually", Charles said turning around.

Some ten minutes later a yellow sports car pulled up, behind the other SUVs.

"You can't trust these machines, Mary", A man around his seventies, tall with a pointed, silver beard and kind brown eyes said, the light breeze waving his fluffy-looking silver hued brown hair.

"Well, if you had taken the exit as that machine said you should have, we wouldn't have reached Ely. Now, we're late", A plump woman with long dark blond hair and a round face with green eyes and long arms and legs replied, coming out of the passenger's seat in the front. She looked to be slightly younger than the man.

"Ely is wonderful this time of year", the man said, shrugging his shoulders.

"Men…insufferable…" Mary sighed.

"I know right", Claudia bantered.

"Oh, you must be Claudia. I like you already", Mary said.

"They're not really fighting, it's their thing, they like grumping. Dreogan, meet my oldies! Mary and Edward!" Charles chuckled, hugging his granny and grumps.

"Let me guess, they are already turning the place inside out?" Edward turned his face to Helen.

"Indubitably", his daughter said with a look of resigned despair, before smiling and hugging him.

"Hello, I'm…" Dreogan tried introducing himself.

"Dreogan. Yeah, we might have been told a thing or two about you", Edward laughed. "Nice to finally meet you", They shook hands.

"Charles looks a lot like you, sir", Dreogan smiled.

"Poor lad, at least he got his mother's and father's smarts", Edward replied, making Charles go "Heeeyyyy!"

"Well, it's not your fault you forgot to stop growing up", Charles teased his grumps.

"You, cheeky bugger! Come 'ere!" Edward grabbed hold of him, tickling his ribs.

Charles squirmed and kept his mouth closed, trying very much in vain not to laugh.

"Stahp!" He laughed, trying to stop the tickling.

Passing a hand over Charles' shoulders, they walked in the house.

"Uhm…there's no light switches", Edward scratched his beard. "How do you turn the lights on and off around here?"

"Lumos", Dreogan said, and the lights came on in the main living and dining room. "Nox turns them off. I think even Mu…even non-magical folk should be able to make it work, it's more voice activated magic than magic-required-magic…kinda."

"Lumos, Nox, Lumos, Nox, Lumos", Edward tested the newfound toy. "Well, cool."

"Beeny where's Averill and the others?" Dreogan turned to the House-Elf to his right, standing quietly in the corner, trying to make herself as invisible as possible.

Averill apparated in front of him, looking grim. The other house elves apparated behind Averill.

Dreogan hid a smile. "You all know what you must do, for the next ten or so days. Averill, there's a small change to your duties. You are going to be personally responsible for William, Alfred and Joy, during their stay here. Everything and anything they need, so that their parents can rest", Dreogan managed to say with a straight face.

Charles, Claudia and Emerick snorted so hard that saliva came out of their noses.

Dreogan ignored Averill's shocked face of despair and sheer agony. "Let me show you to your rooms, don't worry about your luggage, it will be taken there", he told his guests.

He walked them upstairs.

"This place is effing huge!" Emerick said, looking around the corridors and rooms as they walked them by.

"I've re-arranged my room, so us three can sleep in there", Dreogan said.

"Hey! What about me!" Claudia cried.

"Uhm…I thought…you know…uhmm…" Dreogan felt lost for words.

"You're right, he's easy to tease", Claudia's mother told her daughter, both laughing.

"Very, but he's cute when he pouts after". Claudia smiled, mischievously.

"Excuse me! I don't pout!" Dreogan protested, making everyone laugh except him.

"I don't pout!" He insisted.

"There, see? Cute", Claudia laughed while Dreogan huffed and sighed.

"Well, I guess I've been called worse, but cute?" Claudia shrugged with a curved smirk.

"What about Azrail's room?" Helen asked, afraid she or her kids would accidentally access it.

Dreogan's face darkened. "The twins' and my father's bedrooms are magically locked; father's study is also similarly inaccessible and not even I have access to it."

He could tell the adults breathed out a -not so- silent sigh of relief.

Half an hour later they were all settled in their rooms.

"It's funny, showing my family how things work in a magical household", Charles chuckled.

"Just as it was showing me how stuff worked in your home, in the first summer. Aren't your dad's parents coming?" Dreogan smiled, remembering.

"They're in New Zealand for three weeks. Second honeymoon or something."

"Oh, cool!"

Dreogan walked them around the grounds and to the nearby muggle village before dinner.

"This place is…amazing!" Alfred run around the fields and forest, running forth then circling back to the group, with Joy and William.

"It is big yeah, one can get lost in the forest for hours, looking at all the flowers during spring", Dreogan told the boy.

Dreogan had never before visited the Muggle Village. Seeing it with all the various Christmas decorations on the stores and the houses and the bustling streets, people going every which way, with their pets, kids and holding various sized shopping bags, was a new experience for him.

"What's a hardware store?" He asked looking at Charles.

"Place where you buy supplies to fix stuff broken in the house", Edward explained, keeping it simple. "How do you fix things in your house?"

"Uhh…we get creative with spells and potions?" Dreogan replied.

"Right, here we use sonic screwdrivers and gyro-hammers…and stuff."

"Cool!"

Charles chuckled.

They walked for an hour more before returning to the Manor, to get cleaned up for dinner.

Dreogan showered, dressed in his favourite casual robes of teal and yellow. A piece of garment Claudia found appalling, of course, but one that Dreogan loved.

"It is so refreshing not having to shower and run after the boys for a change, can we not have a House Elf as well? I promise we'll treat it properly like an employee!" Helen begged.

"Uh…sorry, I don't think muggles can have such nice things", Charles teased his mother.

"Typical…humph", Peter chuckled, sitting to her right on the long, rectangular dining table made from fine dark brown, polished wood.

When everyone sat, Peter stood. "I wanted to thank Dreogan for having us in his…house? Yes, let us call it that, the mind boggles what it really is", he said raising his glass which suddenly filled with red wine.

They, all, exclaimed 'hear hear' raising their glasses, which filled with either orange juice or red wine, according to the age of the holder.

"Not to be grumpy – Charles snorted- but how…where is the food? Where's the little creatures?" Edward ignored his grandson.

"Ah, I'm glad you asked", Dreogan hid a smirk. "This is how we fix stuff around here", He grabbed his glass and smashed it up against the hard surface of the table. "Reparo!" he said with his wand pointed at the various shards. It was as if he had reversed time, as the glass' shards made a motion as if rewinding, re-attaching to the shape the glass had before being broken, then finally the various tears and breaks disappeared as if made of liquid.

"Well, cool!" Edward exclaimed.

Dreogan slapped his hands together, in front of his face and the table filled with platters full of hors' d oeuvres, food, toppings, and sauces.

"And this is a-every-day-sort-of-food", Dreogan grinned wide. "Christmas day dinner is going to be a _tad_ more…majestic", Dreogan dug in to the beef roast with gravy in front of him.

"Who looks after you, now that…" Claudia's father begun saying but his voice trailed. They had almost finished eating, everyone feeling quite full and content.

"Well, Averill has…instructions from Cillian. And that is pretty much it. Which makes it interesting because although he is supposed to be my "governess" while dad and the twins are away waging his megalomania, he is also a House-Elf bound to serving my family. Dad and I indirectly, which has created this…game of cat and mouse between us where either I give him an order and he obeys it or finds out how he can disobey it because it violates one of my father's _instructions_. Or visa versa he orders me around and I obey or try to find creative ways to countermand his order without him being able to boomerang it on me", Dreogan grinned.

"The cheek is built-in, I see", Robert, Claudia's father chuckled.

"I do have nice cheeks, thanks", Claudia snorted.

Robert laughed, his bent nose flaring, and his semi-bald black-haired head tilting back. His overweight belly jiggled up and down, slightly.

"Must get lonely in this large house", Helen said.

Dreogan shrugged. "Sometimes, but honestly I prefer it to Cillian or the twins being here. My thoughts don't, usually, hurt me."

"Alone? In a large house? Who would want that!" Charles remarked making Dreogan and Emerick laugh.

"Mum?" Alfred and William voiced at the same time.

"No", Helen replied, as if able to read their thoughts.

"Whaaaa?" William said, with a high-pitched voice.

"No, you can't stay here", Helen rolled her eyes.

"Awwww", Alfred puppy eyed her.

"Why not?" William asked, propping his head on his hands.

"Have you two ever seen a secret passage with suits of armour and swords?" Dreogan asked them.

Their heads snapped at him, like a chicken's would snap at a tasty worm. Their eyes bulging at the information.

"Secret passage? Armour? Swords?" Alfred asked, his voice becoming increasingly more excited. "Show us!" both boys said simultaneously.

Dreogan smirked. "Follow me", he told them, standing up.

Charles and Emerick looked at each other, shrugged and followed them.

"What is it about boys and swords? Oh, what the heck, wait up!" Claudia said going after them.

Joy of course had left with the two boys and Dreogan, looking quite infatuated with William.

"Boys and swords? Clever girl she might be, but she's too young to realize it's boys and -their- dicks", Helen said under her breath, yet loud enough for the adults left behind on the dining room to hear her.

Peter chocked on his red wine.

"Alright there, dear?" she asked giving him a hedonistic smirk. Everyone laughed, before returning to the ever-filling glasses of wine.

Next evening Emerick's cousins with his little sister arrived. Unlike Joy, Catherine was more timid, hiding behind her mother, when all the strange faces came out of the Manor's main entrance.

Yoshi was the introvert of the Yang family, while Angel was outgoing and explorative.

Alfred and William took Yoshi under their wing, helping to pull him out of his shell while Joy connected with Catherine playing tea party with various tea kettles and cups they found searching in the cupboards. Their fun magnified all the more as the tea pots would fill with tea on their own, endlessly. Much to the despair of Averill and the other House-Elves.

Dreogan did not care if every tea pot and cup in the Manor broke.

Averill on the other hand cared deeply, for the fate of the contents of the Manor and with five young kids and five teens his work was cut out for him. His day started and ended running after the five young kids and their antics while using his ability to apparate to spy on the teenagers and prevent or repair destruction of items.

On Christmas morning they presented Dreogan with gifts they had bought in the village, when he wasn't looking.

Charles gifted him a framed picture of the four of them, while Claudia gave him a silk scarf and Emerick a notepad of fine parchment.

He was even more surprised to receive gifts from the adults.

In turn, after thanking them all profusely, he gave Charles a broom as a gift, one of the many which Azrail had gotten as gifts, and soon after abandoned. Charles was ecstatic. Claudia received a necklace from a recycled minerals shop Dreogan had found in the Village and then proceeded to shaping the minerals and materials into shape, in the Manor. The silver chain connected to a cyan tear drop inside a glass sphere, allowing light to cast multi coloured refractive plays on it. Emerick got a quill with Augurey feather and a spiral tip.

Christmas day lunch was way more than a tad more majestic, having them eat so much the adults ate nothing the next day but coffee, tea or water and the minors, preteens and teens alike ate so little their parents wondered if they were feeling okay.

"So. Much. Food…" Alfred and William groaned, lying like lions on the sofa, holding their bellies, moving only to go to the toilet and back, for a day.

The main course comprised of turkey and goose, each big enough to feed a small army, along with potatoes, jacket and fried, gravy, vegetables and corn. Various soups and starters had preceded them. The lunch ended with a ginormous pudding that, of course, boys and girls alike decimated.

For the first and last time, Dreogan had been sad to leave the Manor, when time came for them to return to Hogwarts and they had been driven to King's Cross and platform nine and three quarters, at least the ones that were going back to Hogwarts.

Eight hours train drive passed in the blink of an eye as the four friends sat in their compartment, discussed, and joked, buying stuff from the trolley cart and joshing around as kids do.

11


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9: Deniable Proof

Two weeks later they stood in the room of requirement.

"I'm frustrated", Emerick sighed. "I have searched, even in OWLs or NEWTS potions notebooks, and I can't find a single one that will do what we "want" it to. Other than Polyjuice."

"Nor any that could be applied on her clothes or something, and affect her by touch?" Claudia asked.

"None, nada, nix, nill…" Emerick shook his hand.

Dreogan stood close to the blackboard, looking at it intensely.

"It can't be either, too much risk", he declared.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Claudia turned her head to him.

"Potion, edible or wearable clothes. They increase the margins of error. If she doesn't consume or wear the thing for a few hours or day, days and so on she could slip from its control. She changes from her day clothes to her night gown and maybe it loses control. She drinks or eats anything different it loses control. We need something that she will not be able to dispose of, easily", Dreogan explained.

"Oh, I dunno", Claudia exasperated. "We're running out of ideas."

"What if Cillian is using that portal spell? Portal in, give potion, portal out?" Charles inquired.

"Azrail? Allow anyone else to use one of his spells, without direct permission? You're joking right? He'd…" Dreogan begun saying, when his pupils dilated, the chalk falling from his grip.

"You thought of something!" Charles said, standing up from the floor, cross-legged where he sat. "What? I know that look!"

"Eh…oh, nothing. Let's keep searching", Dreogan grabbed the chalk crossing out the potions and edible options.

"I'm trying to, but someone has borrowed out a book about ancient Greek magical and enchanted items. It's the only one left", Charles said.

"How do I know that book?" Dreogan mumbled to himself.

"Your detention in the library, last year?" Emerick asked, looking at the blackboard.

"Yeah, probably", Dreogan shrugged.

"We should go." Claudia stood up, dusting her skirt and robes. "We'll be late for Defense against the dark arts."

"I hope we learn some new spells, I'm tired of keeping notes about Gargoyles, imps and Ghouls", Charles whined.

"I hope we learn about Boggarts and other non-beings. It'll help having prior, theoretical knowledge come next year", Emerick said.

The door of the room of requirement had closed behind them, they turned the corner to the stairs when a female voice came from behind a suit of armour.

"What are you lot doing here? Defense against the dark arts classroom's in the third floor", they turned around to see Anneke coming out from behind it.

"Uhm, I don't see how it's any of your business", Dreogan replied, sharp and dismissive.

"I'm your friend and I want to be included", Anneke clenched her fists, her voice sickly sweet.

"Yeah nah", Claudia took a step forward, pointing at Anneke with her right-hand index finger. "I don't like you. I don't trust you or the things I hear about your family's dealings with Cillian. And I don't want anything to do with you."

"I'm surprised you think we're friends, you constantly behave badly towards me and my friends, constantly you are sarcastic and taunt and try to bully us and other first years and you still haven't tried to discuss with me what I did last year that so hurt you, you started to cry. You're not giving me a chance to either discuss or apologize and you haven't apologized for your bad behaviour", Dreogan said, annoyed.

"Nevermind, forget I said anything", Anneke said. "If you're doing anything you shouldn't be, you'll get in trouble", Anneke left, pushing Dreogan aside.

"She really doesn't like conflict, does she?" Claudia stated.

"I don't know, I think it's sad", Charles said.

"I wouldn't mind being friends with her, if she would…" Claudia interjected him.

"I don't trust her, and I don't like how she behaved. Towards you or me. I don't like it when people mess with my friends", she said, with a face of iron-will.

"That's probably the nicest thing anyone's told me. Ever", Dreogan smiled, giving her a quick hug.

"Hey!" Charles whined, making them burst laughing.

"You are too easy to tease, and Claudia thinks _I_ am cute when I pout!"

"You are, Charles' cuter", Claudia grinned.

"Ha! Damn straight I am!" Charles pointed his hand up in the air, momentarily.

Emerick chortled.

Dreogan poked at his ribs, like his grandfather had done during Christmas.

"You arse! Grumps was a bad influence on you!" Charles declared, dodging Dreogan's fingers.

"Oh, you have no idea", He cracked a tight-lipped smile. "He gave me so much dirt on you. Baby stories are kinda fun, aren't they", Charles' eyes nearly fell out of their sockets.

"Whaaaa! Nononononononononooooo!" The boy exclaimed.

Dreogan laughed aloud.

"You two are cute as a couple, are you making out as well?" Harold's voice came from their left, in the fifth-floor landing.

"Would you like it, if I broke your jaw, again? twat?" Dreogan's face distorted in bile.

"Would you like it if I crucioed you, bitch?" Harold retrieved his wand.

Dreogan shrugged. "I'm sure it'll tickle me. How do you think your imperialist asshole of a father will like it when you get expelled? He seemed less than unafraid of the possibility of getting hit by the crucatius curse.

"I won't get expelled", Harold's lips formed an evil sneer.

"Right, your pathetic ass will be sent to Azkaban, for using one of the unforgivable", Claudia stated.

"And when your jerk of a father tries to break you out, you'll be where you belong", Emerick joined.

"I'm honoured you think someone like Dreogan would want to boyfriend me, but you should seriously look into your homophobia, man!" Charles spat at Harold.

"Who did you call a jerk, mudblo…" Harold started saying, when his voice vanished.

"Poor, poor guy, can't help yourself, can you? You just have to be a racist in front of me, don't you?" Professor Willows' voice came from the corridor behind them, climbing up the stairs. "Well, needless to say you are in detention and let us make it hurt a tad, yeah? Your criminal father paid for a bunch of stuff for the Slytherin team. Pity his son won't be enjoying any of it, at least for this year. Yes, you guessed it Mr. Nott! Year-long ban for you from any and all Quidditch-related activity. Leave. Now."

Dreogan gave a chortling sound, swallowing the laughter as Harold departed, unable to speak.

"Feels sort of bad, having to give you…" Professor started telling him.

"I didn't do anything, professor. Give the points to Emerick, he's the wronged party, sir", Dreogan commented.

"That's not a bad compromise, I guess. That's quite the display of self-sacrifice…for a Slytherin", Professor Willows raised an eye-brow.

"I never…"

"In any case. Emerick, twenty points for Ravenclaw", Professor Willows said and left.

"Thanks, mate!" Emerick gave him a pat on his back.

"Don't mention it. Come on, let's go", Dreogan descended the moving stairs to the third floor.

To Charles' groaning disappointment they covered Trolls, hags and banshees, filling parchment rolls with ink.

"What's eating you?" Charles whispered to Dreogan, his best of friends looking increasingly skeptical and lost in thought throughout the lesson.

"It's nothing, let's go eat lunch, I'm famished", Dreogan replied, after the lesson's end.

Even during lunch, Dreogan seemed preoccupied, and out of form.

"Okay, seriously, what's up?" Emerick asked, this time.

"Sorry, I have to go look something in the library, I'll catch up with you guys later", Dreogan stood up, picking up his backpack from the floor and left.

Charles looked Emerick who shrugged his shoulders, as if to say, "I dunno."

"Like I told your friend, Mr. Blake. That book has been given out to another student who has yet to return it", Mr. Thorson told Dreogan when he asked for "Ancient Greek Magical and Enchanted items".

"Who has it, sir?"

"A Ravenclaw girl", Mr. Thorson did not look as if he would elaborate any further.

He spent the rest of the afternoon doing his homework until dinner and sleep.

Waking up next morning he felt his left hand heavy. "Dammit, I must have slept on it again…wait…" Propping up on his shoulder he saw a large, brown leather-bound book placed on his left hand. There was a photograph between pages, a bookmark.

Picking up the heavy book on both hands, he opened it on his lap, bending his knees under the duvet to serve as a bookstand.

"Hey, that's the book Charles and I wanted to…" His trail of thought was interrupted as he opened it to the pages marked by the photograph. "I have you now, you son of a…" He shot up scrambling for his clothes.

"Have you seen Dreogan today? I haven't seen him since he left for the library yesterday", Claudia asked the other Emerick. They were in the Great Hall eating breakfast, pancakes disappearing at a lightning speed from their plates.

"I dunno, doesn't look like he's here, in the Great Hall", Emerick said, with a mouthful of pancakes and blueberries jam.

Not a minute later the heavy double oak, carved doors slammed open as Charles barged in, head-first.

"What? What is it?" Emerick stood up, placing his hands on the table, jam spilling off his mouth.

Charles held his upper torso with his left hand, panting heavily.

Taking a deep breath, he tapped his right hand on the table with some force, releasing a piece of paper.

Claudia picked it up, reading it aloud. "Found evidence. Going to Horsewood"

"Courtyard!" Charles managed to say between short, rugged breaths.

All three of them bolted for the doors.

 _Earlier._

"I have one final question, Mr.…Dreogan. Why me? I have not, exactly, been friendly to you since the day you arrived in the school", Professor Horsewood leaned on her elbows, behind her desk in her office. Her green eyes reflected the torch and candle light.

"Exactly", Dreogan held his hands on his lap, tapping them together. "You are the only one I can trust with this because you haven't been friendly, because you have displayed such animosity towards my family and never hid your dislike of m…y family name, you can't be Cillian's or Azrail's ally with such animosity."

"If you had come to me earlier…but after what happened with the Headmistress and Professor Willows…let's go. Time to find out if your, otherwise, circumstantial evidence holds any ground", she said standing up.

Dreogan followed her to the courtyard where the Headmistress was reprimanding a duo of Hufflepuff third years.

"Hello father", Dreogan voiced, oozing with hatred.

"I'm afraid you're mistaken, Dreogan", the Headmistress replied, pivoting around.

Dreogan opened the book. "The necklace of Hera, an object believed to be an Old Gods item, was used in Ancient Greece to control humans from a distance through the transference of emotions and phrases of power, now considered to be forgotten and lost", He read, his voice steady and calm. "You never used to wear necklaces, professor, not until two years past."

"It was a gift from my daughter", she replied, her hand slowly creeping lower, towards her waist.

"Your daughter died when she was a baby", Horsewood refuted her claim, the Hufflepuff boys started walking backwards, as if Horsewood's stare was any indication this was going to end badly, and fast. "You hate wearing accessories or anything that may be used against you in a duel. You told me this when you hired me, twenty years ago", Her wand was already out.

"Must be a gift from my husband, then."

"You divorced after Debora's death. I know, he was my best friend at the time. His son from his second marriage is on his fourth year in the school", Horsewood replied, now raising her wand-hand aiming at her.

"Remove it", Dreogan released his wand. "If it's not the Necklace of Hera, if it's a gift you can remove it, even for a moment. Remove it", the kids around the courtyard stood transfixed, a second year was ordering the Headmistress.

She did not reply, instead touched the green gem at the center.

"You can't, can you?" Dreogan aimed at her.

"You are expelled. And you, you are fired", she burst out, looking more aloof.

"No, I think not", Horsewood stood in front of Dreogan. "Let. Go. Of. My. Friend!" She emphasized every word, her gaze murderous.

She cracked a malicious smile. "Fiendfyre!"

 _Now._

Charles, Emerick and Claudia arrived in the courtyard amidst sounds of things breaking and clashing. Various students stood on the outside of the cloistered colonnade, not daring to go inside.

The Headmistress threw a rain of torn marble and granite shards at Dreogan and Horsewood.

"Aguamento murus!" Horsewood cried. A wall of water erected in front of them, causing most of the shards to bounce off.

Dreogan ducked, avoiding a larger piece of marble. "Alarte Ascendare!" He cast at a bunch nearby pieces of the cloister's roof tiles that had fallen down. They ejected high up in the air. "Oppugno!" he yelled, aiming at Mary Adams.

The rooftile pieces shot up her at bullet speeds.

She waved her wand in a diagonal shape causing them to transform into snowflakes.

Dreogan spotted Charles, Claudia and Emerick out of the corner of his eye. "Distract her! Distract her and get people out!"

They nodded. "Charles, help get them away!" Claudia told him and she and Emerick started casting spells.

Mary Adams growled, animating the four statues of the eagles holding the snakes in their beaks, around the fountain in the center of the courtyard. The eagles flew up, poising to strike.

"Reducto!" Professor Jordan yelled, entering the courtyard and the statues crumbled to dust.

Mary Adams continued to battle all of them, wreaking havoc. "Sectusempra!" she fired at Claudia, slashing her left arm, above the elbow.

"Episkey!" Emerick tried to heal her.

"Hey, dad!" Dreogan had sneaked behind her. "CONFRIGO!" He cried as she turned around. Before she could even react, the spell hit her dead center on the green emerald of Hera's necklace, causing it to explode in a bright green explosion, releasing a symbol of a pair of fiery peacock feathers and a horizontal eight between them before vanishing in a wisp of black smoke. The explosion forced Adams back on her back.

Horsewood used her moment of confusion to stun her. "Ives help me get her to the Hospital Wing. Dreogan, fetch the prefects, close off the courtyard."

Dreogan turned to his friends. "Make sure no one touches the fragments", Claudia nodded, holding her left arm in the right one.

Dreogan left to find the prefects, while Rawthorn, Professor of charms started repairing the courtyard.

If the school had been hit by a meteor, it'd have had less activity as students murmured and talked about the events in the courtyard, for hours and they would continue talking of it for days and weeks, each conversation giving birth to a different slightly altered version,.

That night the dinner delayed for two hours, as was the curfew.

There, usually, wasn't such a large concentration of students in the every day dinner, as people didn't always eat two meals a day or ate at different times, and teachers most days ate in their offices to avoid the ruckus of the Great Hall. This day, though, they all sat in their seats to the left and right of the Headmistress, in the Professors' table.

The students as well all sat there, without a single one missing, except for one. Dreogan.

Mary Adams, looking still battered up and weary, stood up, lingering for a moment with her hand clutching the arm of her Headmistress' chair.

The Great Hall fell silent.

"You have all, undoubtedly, heard the rumours and hushed whispers of how I was under Cillian Gaunt's direct control for two years now. I'm afraid unlike most rumours this one's true and it is because of the unwavering loyalty and monumental bravery of a group of second years that this is no more, and I am free of Cillian's control", Hushed gasps covered the large room before falling silent again.

"It is customary to award points like I am going to now, at the end of the year feast. But I think this is not a normal event we have experienced. Or, indeed, a normal year...or two. So, for making a friend in a person who everyone else in the school had discriminated and rejected because of their name, for having the courage to go against the flow. I award Charles Blake, Claudia Russo and Emerick Stalwart five hundred points. Each. For being able to conduct their investigation of how I was being controlled, without their grades suffering I award them and Dreogan Gaunt, another one hundred points, each", Every student in the Great Hall erupted in deafening cheers.

Mary Adams paused for the cheers to quiet down, smiling gently. "Finally. It takes courage to stand up to bullies, it takes more so to stand up to ones' friends and it takes even more so to stand against your own family, and to authority, risking everything for your principles, for what is right, to safekeep the ones you love and care about, or simply because no one else will. For his loyalty and service to Hogwarts I award Dreogan Gaunt two thousand points. Now, as I've been… _informed_ by the board of Governors, his action in blasting the Necklace off my neck was deemed…too dangerous, I have been _requested_ to remove half that. Which still leaves Dreogan and Slytherin with a nice one thousand points", she sat back down in her wooden, carved chair.

The Great Hall was silent no more.

An hour or two after the dinner was finished, Dreogan found his friends waiting for him, outside his common room, by the stairs.

"It's past curfew, what are you all doing here?" he asked surprised, and worried.

"We have a pass from the Headmistress, we are to feed you", Charles did not look happy. "And by god you are to tell us everything that happened!"

"There's food waiting for you in the Great Hall, come with us", Emerick said.

They walked to the Great Hall, sitting down in four chairs. The Great Hall was empty of anyone else, with the enchanted ceiling reflecting the clear night, starry sky from outside. The candles hovered above them, lightless. Grabbing hold of the plate with turkey breast fillets and mash potatoes that appeared in front of him, Dreogan begun to wolf it down.

"Why did you go on ahead without us?" Claudia looked even less happy, she looked hurt.

"Sorry, I just didn't want you getting into trouble or hurt if Horsewood didn't believe me, at least only I would have gotten expelled", Dreogan said.

"Bullshit! We are either in this together or I'm out", Claudia replied.

"Uh…you're being a tad too hard on him", Charles, although he himself unhappy at having been left out, run to Dreogan's defense.

"No, I'm not", Claudia shook her head. "He's not my father, nor my brother. We are the same age and if anything, I probably know more than either of you in terms of spells. Don't try to protect me, we are friends and I want to be in all the way or not all", she said in one breath.

"Okay, you're right. For school related matters, but as for my family…", she interrupted him again.

"If you are going to protect everyone, who's going to protect you?" she said with less anger in her voice.

"You? Charles? Emerick?"

"I just don't like it when people think they have to protect me because I can't handle shit", she growled.

"I didn't think you can't handle shit. I thought that if I wasn't believed and I was somehow expelled, you could lead the follow-up and prove me right, because I know that you can more than handle shit."

She didn't reply, blushing instead.

"What! You've got nothing to say? That's new!" He cracked a grin.

"Shut up!" She shoved his shoulder playfully.

"Can we, now, learn what happened?" Charles whined.

"I woke up with a book resting on my left hand, the page explaining Hera's necklace was bookmarked with a photograph of the Headmistress from three years ago, showing her neck without any necklace, or accessory. So, I went to Horsewood with everything we had, plus that…you know the rest", Dreogan said, midst chewing.

"Woah…who could have left it?" Charles asked.

"I don't know. Mr. Thorson wouldn't say anything more than that a Ravenclaw girl had taken the book. I'm guessing it's the same person who sent me that letter a few months ago."

"So, that's over, then?" Emerick asked.

"I'm not sure…I was in the Headmistress' office all day. She's been temporarily suspended until the Ministry can assess and make sure she's not still under my father's control. Horsewood will be acting Headmistress until then. And I got the distinct impression the board of governors aren't in a rush for the results or may even want her replaced permanently."

"Lovely, at least she is no longer controlled, is she?" Emerick asked.

"She's not, that's over", Dreogan confirmed.

"Soooo…what now?" Charles asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Now, I finish eating and I go to sleep. Being interrogated some six hours straight leaves one somewhat drained", Dreogan swallowed a large mouthful of mashed potatoes.

"I mean what next in regard to your family's plans to dominate the world!" Charles exclaimed.

As if on cue the fireplace came alive, the flames creating Azrail's face.

10


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10: Hope

Charles, Claudia and Emerick jumped back, scared, their chairs falling on the floor.

"What do you want?" Dreogan asked Azrail, dismissively. "Sad, I ousted father from Professor Adams? Don't worry, he can't apparate or use the Floo network in here, this only allows him to project his ugly face, nothing more."

"Quite the contrary, dear brother. You did me a service by exposing father", Azrail said, his lips curving up to a smile.

"What do you want?" Dreogan replied.

"To thank you, brother. For once, he is angrier with you than he is with me."

"Yet, he still wants me to rule his Imperium Arcana, yes?" Dreogan twisted the knife creating insult.

"He will change his mind, or his shadow will be less…desirable than it once was", Azrail's face lost its smirk.

"Oh, then it was your idea to use your invented spell, "Family Disaster" last year against a friend of mine, was it? To torture me as you once did?"

"What's he doing? Adding salt to injury?" Claudia thought to herself, feeling tense.

"No one but me knows that spell!" Azrail spat at him, angry.

"Someone does, it was used against Emerick, and thankfully I knew how to counter it", Dreogan motioned with his head, to where Emerick stood behind him.

"Impossible…no, he wouldn't, couldn't have…and you! You have the audacity to stop one of my spells!" Azrail mumbled to himself.

"With ease, brother", Dreogan cracked a smirk.

"I will grant you the worst curse of them all. Hope", Azrail breathed deeply. "You can find _her_ in Bwana farm. Dare you go through the portal?" A portal opened as the flamed face vanished.

"Hope? Find _her_?" Dreogan looked behind him, at his friends.

"Where have I heard that farm before?" Charles scratched his head.

"Used to belong to my father, he sold it to Joymother… "Africa is mother to us all", he told me once…mother, my mum? It can't be? Can it?" His fists clenched.

"Dreogan, it is most likely a trap", Claudia tried to prevent what she knew was going on inside his head, the decision he had, already, made.

"Most likely, but if my mum's in there…fuck it", Dreogan run into the portal with a stride.

"Dreogan wait! Ugh…Emerick, go! Get Professors Adams, Horsewood and Jordan! Charles, with me. Wands out", They went through the portal as Emerick ran out of the Great Hall as fast as his legs allowed him.

Dreogan jumped out of the portal, in a savannah-like landscape amidst a large plantation of trees, evenly spread out between them. It was late evening, and yet there were still, worn-down-looking House-Elves picking fruits and bark from them, arranging them in large, wooden baskets. And now they looked astonished at the intrusion.

Dreogan run through them, barely noticing them, heading to the large house in the other side of the estate.

Even during night it was hot and humid. Dreogan panted and sweated as he reached the house's entrance, searching inside every granary, stable and barn he could find before blasting open the main door and entering the house.

The main floor was empty, except for furniture with no apparent signs of habitation. After searching through every door, all of them open, he ascended the stairs to the upper floor.

This floor was different than the lower one, it had one corridor with only one room at the end of it, with its door closed.

Dreogan walked up to it, with increasing tension and hesitation, every step labored and second-thoughted.

His right hand stretched, not touching the heavy-looking ebony wood door for a mere half inch. Moving it back and forth, push the door open, don't push the door open.

He whimpered taking a breath.

Someone placed a hand on his shoulder, Dreogan didn't need to turn to know who it was. The owner's breathing pattern told him who.

"I'm scared…" Dreogan took another breath. "what if she hates me?"

"Hate you? You've done nothing wrong, mate", Charles replied in a similarly whispered voice.

"I exist."

"She won't hate you for that, she can't hate you for what you had no choice in", Claudia's voice came, gentle and caring.

"If you don't go in there, yo know you'll regret it forever", Charles gave him a tender squeeze.

"Right…" Dreogan sighed, pushing his hand up against the door. It creaked open. With a final push he shoved it ajar exposing the chamber inside.

Taking a tentative step, he let his eyes adjust to the well-lit environment, in contrast to the corridor outside it. The room, unlike the rest of the house, was decorated like a British cottage, with all the furniture, small items and wall and floor tapestries and carpet and ceiling lights. Everything, including the colours pointed to an affluent cottage in rural Britain.

In the Center of the room there was a relic from the past a rocking chair was placed away from the rest of the furniture. Desk, wardrobe, and bed placed in the corners of the room.

Sitting on the chair was a woman, she looked to be in her late thirties or perhaps early forties, tall with long, black hair falling on her neck and face, cyan eyes and a narrow face ending in a cupped chin and ruby, tight lips.

"I grow tired of your illusions, Azrail", she said, angry. "You do not fool me anymore!" She let the book she was holding fall on the carpeted floor.

Dreogan stood there, frozen his eyes beginning to water up and tremble.

"M…mum?" His voice cracked.

"You do not fool me! This is how it always goes. Felix comes through the door, hesitant and just when I believe it, he vanishes replaced by your fucking face encircled in fiery wings and my heart breaks. Go away!" She waved her hand at him, dismissively.

"Mum, it's me. Dreogan", He moved closer in slow, laboured steps.

Claudia and Charles stood behind him, just inside the door.

"That was never the name I chose for him! Never would I name my child, my son, my flesh and blood "he who suffers", NEVER!" Her voice intensified, enraged. "His name reflects what he is. Elario Felix Burton. My joy and happiness. That dreaded name was his father's choice when he reaped him from my arms, right after his birth. And you know it! Filth", She spat at his direction.

Dreogan walked closer still. "It really is me, mum. Flesh, bones and emotions. I...I love you", Tears streaked down his cheeks, his chest heaving in effort to contain himself, his emotions, his mind racing at break-neck speed, his heart beating fast.

She hesitated. "This is the part. This is where…" He cut her off, taking one more step, Now standing in front of her.

"My brother's illusions, did they ever kneel in front of you? Did they place their head on your knees or hug you like their life depends on it?" He asked her in a pained voice, as he kneeled in front of her, placed his head on her lap and hugged her as tight as his hands could.

He heard her scream as surprised as she had ever thought she could be, before hesitant, smooth, gentle hands touched his hair, then his cheeks, not wanting to believe, not being able not to. He was then pulled up in a tight embrace, his mother kissing every inch of his head, and forehead. Wailing cries coming from her. His composure gave way sobbing, eyes closed, taking in the scent he never before had experienced. His mother's.

"Oh, my baby, my soul, light of my life…", she kept repeating amidst hiccups and heaving sobs.

"Mum…" he whispered, registering her existence, her being.

"Look at you, all grown up. Proper gentleman. I have missed you so hurtfully much, look at you!" she exclaimed, raising his head from his chin to look at him.

"Sorry to interrupt", Claudia said. "But we need to go, this place is by no means safe."

Dreogan kept still for a few moments more, before standing up. He took his mother's hand in his own. "Mum follow me. We'll take you to safety, back to Hogwarts."

She stood up. "Lead the way. I'm sick and tired of this place."

Dreogan let them exit the room, before exiting it himself. Half in, half out the door he pointed at the bed covers with his wand. "Incendio!" He casted the spell at various points in the room. On the tapestries on the wall, on the carpet, everywhere and continued casting it across the corridors in the rest of the house.

The House-Elves unable to put it out, fled the burning house, screaming. Some run out, some dissapparated out.

Exiting the house, they run across the estate to the portal.

"Fuck! Now what?" Dreogan cussed, seeing the portal closing just as they were near it.

"Now?" A female voice said from behind them, in the trees. "Now, you suffer and die. I am Sandra, one of four arbiters of death", Dreogan, wand out, turned to see a short, black-haired woman with teeth sticking out of her mouth at odd angles and amber eyes full of self-loathing with a hunchback looking at them; she looked to be in her mid-twenties. Alongside her stood a tall man with scarlet eyes and a head half with deep crimson short hair, half-shaven with no facial hair and strong-looking body musculature, and on her left side another woman clad in golden hair, tall stature, a narrow face with plush purple lips and blue eyes contrasting her ebony skin.

"Bloodfang's the name and this is Marigold. Sandra I'm taking the girl. I know you like to emasculate the boys", the man said, a smirk revealing elongated canines. His eyes falling on Claudia he run his tongue over them.

Bloodfang jumped back with cat-like lithe agility as the very air around him exploded where he previously stood.

"Over my dead body!" Dreogan had stepped in front of his mother and friends.

"D'awwww the pup has learned a trick or two. As for the dead part…that my tender friend is the plan", Bloodfang retrieved his wand.

"Bombarda! If you think I'll let you touch a HAIR out of my mum and friends' heads you are delusional!" Dreogan spat at the older wizard.

"Crucio! Bow before me, boy!" Sandra focused her attention on him. Dreogan felt the familiar brain-debilitating pain flare across his body, his back arching backwards he fell on his knees.

"Crucio! Crucio!" Sandra kept hitting him with it.

Dreogan whimpered, his teeth grinding from the excruciating pain as his muscles contracted and spasmed causing him additional agony.

"Scream you fuckwad! Crucio!"

Blood came out of the corners of his mouth. "To the likes of you? Never", He tried to stand back up, his knees trembled and fell back down. His hands touched the soil, but his head looked ahead, at her, defiantly.

"Depulso maxima!" Claudia screamed. "Get. Away. From HIM!" Sandra focused as she was at hurting Dreogan had no time to reply and was thrown back against a tree, snapping the thin trunk in two.

Bloodfang threw himself at Claudia but Charles threw him a vial with a yellow liquid, smashing it on his left elbow.

"Ugh! You little shit, ugh what is this!" Bloodfang felt the world spin, losing his balance.

"Feeling vertigo and nausea, are you? A lil' something Emerick gave me the other day. Expulso!" Charles yelled. Bloodfang was blown back, smearing against the soft soil.

"Go Feral! Enough playing around!" Marigold snapped at Bloodfang, trying to cast a curse at Charles.

"Incarcerus!" Dreogan pointed his wand at her. Large thorned vines sprang from the soil tying in knots around her. "You are not hurting my friends! Impedimenta!" Marigold's legs froze, her joints unable to move.

Bloodfang pointed his black, elongated wand at him murmuring something.

"Crucio! Crucio! Crucio!" Sandra yelled, maliciously. Saliva dripped from her lips.

"Protego totalus!" Dreogan cast, but the curses went right through it. All four of them fell on the ground writhing in crippling pain. Charles and Claudia's voices filled the night air. Dreogan refused with every fiber of his being to give her that satisfaction.

Dreogan's mother, seeing her child suffer, tried to run, and throw herself at Sandra but Marigold, having escaped the tightening vines forced her on her back with a flick of her wand.

Bloodfang, now transformed into a bat-like, bipedal creature with red fur and large tusk-like canines forcing themselves out of his mouth, walked at them, towering over. Feral black eyes focusing on Claudia.

The next second, he was thrown back up against a thick acacia tree with such a force it snapped it at half.

"Why don't you brutes take on someone your size?" Horsewood's voice echoed through the trees.

Various different streams of liquid smoke appeared all around them.

"Sorry we're late, we brought friends!" Emerick said, standing next to Professor Horsewood.

"Mr. Stalwart, you know what to do", Professor Adams said, making the earth near Sandra erupt, sending debris and molten rock at her.

"Right!" He run to them and stretched a hand out. "Everyone! Grab on!" Dreogan and Claudia grabbed on to his hand with Charles and Dreogan's mother grabbing on to Dreogan, who was closer.

Emerick nodded at the Headmistress who threw at him an object. Emerick caught it with his free hand and in an instant the ground vanished beneath their feet and the environment dissolved in a vortex-like feeling, replaced by a rectangular chamber with lots of beds one next to each other and in two rows opposite.

They were in Hogwarts' Hospital Wing.

The Nurse started treating them, as Professor Jordan helped Dreogan's mother on her feet, giving her a vial. "Drink this."

She downed it. "Ugh, tastes horrible."

"Counter to Polyjuice Potion", Dreogan saw him holding his wand in his other hand, ready to strike depending on the outcome of Hope drinking the potion. "No reaction, good."

Next Professor Jordan pointed his wand at her. "Finite Incantatem", He spoke some more spells, directing them at her. She did not seem to react to them.

"Sorry about that, had to make sure you weren't Azrail or a trick of his. All good", Dreogan, Charles and Claudia vomited.

"Ugh, every time…I wonder if I'll ever get crucioed without vomiting after", Dreogan complained, now lying in bed, the nurse running around to the others.

Professor Jordan fixed his attention to them. "You were crucioed? By whom?"

"Friend of Azrail's called Sandra…bitch…" Charles held his tummy in a near fetal position, lying in a bed next to Dreogan as the nurse was looking after Claudia.

"Sandra Ziran? So, she is working with him. Who else was there?" Professor Jordan hid his wand in his sleeve, standing next to Dreogan's mother who held her son's hand in hers.

"Guy named Bloodfang and a woman named Marigold", Claudia answered.

"What did she look like, Marigold?"

Claudia described her. "Why? You know her, sir?"

Professor Jordan answered not, but his fists clenched tightly. Just then Horsewood and the headmistress apparated in along with a few of the Aurors. One of them was missing his right hand, blood spilling out of the wound.

"Ives?" The Headmistress asked, looking tense.

"All clear like a winter's dusk", he said. She nodded relaxing and hiding her wand.

"Dreogan's mother, I presume? What shall I call you?" Adams asked her.

"Hope, Hope Burton. Where are we? What happened?"

"We are in Hogwarts School of witchcraft and Wizardry, in the Hospital Wing. As to what happened, I enchanted the pen to act as a portkey, to enable it to travel you all here as fast as possible. I imagine you are aware of the existence of magic?" Hope nodded.

Before Hope, or anyone else could utter another word, Charles stood up on the bed's edge. "Hope Burton?" He looked positively alarmed or surprised out of his socks.

"Why is that significant, Mr. Blake?" Professor Horsewood asked.

"Blake? What's your parents' names?" Hope looked at him just as surprised.

"Helen and Peter. You were taken, kidnapped twelve years ago? Yes?" Charles replied with a question, gazing right in her eyes.

"I was out celebrating with my sister, I don't remember most of the night but when I woke up the man told me his name was Cillian Gaunt and I would breed his child, that I was the descendant of someone called Godric Gryffindor…my sister's husband's surname was Blake", Hope recounted.

Charles and Dreogan stared at each other, jaws slacking, eyes wide in disbelief. Claudia and Emerick looked equally stunned.

"We are cousins!"

8


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11: Dreogan No More

Stunned silence filled the Hospital room.

Charles broke it. "Wait that means…"

Dreogan said nothing, looking down, sad.

"No, his father's deeds are not Felix's fault. My nephew making friends with his cousin without either of them knowing, though…what are the chances of that?", Hope stated.

"Astronomical", Jordan Ives remarked.

"Astronomical…and now? Does that friendship still stand?" Dreogan whispered.

"Your mum's right can't get rid of me that easily", Charles cracked a smile. A trying one.

"My mum…your aunt…I guess someone has a letter to write."

"That'd be my responsibility", Adams said. "I'm sure you two…three have a lot to talk about but I'm afraid it is very late and Mrs Burton has to come with me to my office. Not to worry, Dreogan I'll be bringing her back to you safe and sound, tomorrow",

Hope gave him a hug and a kiss on his forehead. "Don't worry, ain't nothing going to separate us, again. I'll see you tomorrow, sweetheart", He smiled hugging her back.

The professors left, bidding them goodnight.

"How's everyone?" Dreogan asked his friends.

"I don't know how you didn't scream…It felt as if every cell in my body was exploding in excruciating pain," Charles breathed.

"It was not the first time I've experienced Crucio, not by a long shot", Dreogan shrugged.

"I don't think it's something you get…used to", Claudia replied.

"How are you not a drooling mess? If you grew up with it?" Charles asked him.

"I dunno…I think I'll go now", Dreogan tried standing up from his bed.

"And where do you think you're going? Lie on the bed!" The nurse pushed him back down, covering the distance in a stride.

"I'm feeling okay," Dreogan complained.

"You won't be feeling anything if you don't lie down", She held him down.

"Uhm…Yes, ma'am", Dreogan chuckled.

"Watch out mate, Nurse Filterwolf means business!" Emerick quipped.

"You betcha", She kept taking their vitals, the three of them, stuffing chocolate frogs in their hands. "Eat those, you'll feel better."

"Elario Felix…I've had neither. Do we know any lawyers?" Dreogan asked no one in particular.

"Uh…my father? Your uncle I guess…" Charles shrugged.

"Right, but does he take Wizarding world cases?"

"Doubt it."

"I need someone who does", Dreogan said.

"I'll ask my dad, he is bound to know someone", Claudia commented, feeling perkier.

"Thanks."

"Right, Mr. Stalwart you can go now. Your friends will be out in a few hours, come morrow", Nurse Filterwolf told him.

"A few hours? Come on! Why, because I vomited?" Dreogan protested.

"Because you were tortured with one of the unforgivable", She sighed. "I understand you want to see your mother, but she's safe and not going anywhere, a few hours of sleep won't kill you."

Dreogan didn't reply.

"I'll see you in a few, I'm really glad you're all okay", Emerick said, preparing to leave.

"I wouldn't go that far, I still ache…" Charles whined.

"Everywhere…" Claudia joined him.

"Every cell and muscle…" Dreogan admitted.

"I thought you had gotten used to it!" Charles said. Dreogan wasn't sure if he was irritated or teasing him.

"Not that much…"

"Yeah, thought so."

"What's up with you?" Dreogan asked, worried.

"Nothing", Charles tried to switch to his side.

Two hours later, Claudia and Charles were fast asleep, yet Dreogan was fully awake.

"Ms. Filterwolf, may I please take Dreogan? I need to speak to him", Professor Jordan asked, speaking low as to not awake the other two.

"He should go to sleep, but somehow I don't see that happening. You may leave, Mr. Gaunt", He nodded, jumping up.

Professor Jordan took him outside and in the Great Hall next door.

"How is my mum?" Dreogan asked losing no time. Professor Jordan motioned for him to sit down in one of the seats nearest.

"Her physical health is good. She was…well looked after in terms of nutrition and sleep and she was not physically tortured other than what your father did to her twelve years ago. Her mental state is to be…determined. She is, as you can imagine, traumatized. Both by your father's actions and by what your siblings did to her since", Professor Jordan replied, taking a seat opposite him.

"Can't you obliviate that part out of her?" Dreogan asked.

"The easy solution…is not always the correct one. We could do that, indeed. But we run the significant danger of removing the memories, the cause of the sorrow and trauma and leaving behind the sadness without her being able to remember why she is sad, and to such a degree. Would you want this for her? Forever wondering why she is sad and in pain yet never able to know why? If she does not know why, how will she attain the ability to deal with it and reach some sort of peace of mind? People have gone insane for less."

"No…I guess not…" Dreogan shook his head.

"You both, are tormented souls and you will have to help each other through it, I think."

"Hopefully her sister and her family won't blame me for all that's happened to her", Dreogan whispered.

"You mean like you do?" Professor Jordan made eye contact. "From what little I know, I think it'll be alright", He formed a warm smile to assure Dreogan.

"Maybe I can have a real family who love me…for a change. That'd be nice", Dreogan smiled back.

"It'll be quite a while before your mother is done with the people from the Ministry and the Headmistress. I know this might be difficult for you to hear right now, but you should get some sleep. I have a pass for you, so you can get to your dorm, as we are after hours."

"What time is it, sir?" Dreogan realized he had lost all track of time.

"Very late, somewhere between three and four after midnight."

"Classes start in three hours…" Dreogan groaned.

"You have been excused from potions tomorrow, your first class of the day, so with the empty hour after you should have some four or five hours of sleep", Professor Jordan gave him the pass.

"When do I get to see my mum?"

"After classes tomorrow. Headmistress' order."

Dreogan groaned, burying his head in his elbows and hands.

"Goodnight Dreogan, or should I say, Felix", Professor Jordan stood up and left with a nod.

"Goodnight, Professor."

Dreogan walked to his dorm and lay in his bed. "As if I can sleep…" The next thing he knew he was waking up in the morning.

"Maybe it was a dream…wait! It wasn't!", he thought, sitting on the bed's edge, stretching his hands above his head. Standing up he realized he did not even change to his pajamas before falling asleep.

Throwing some water on his face and re-arranging his long hair not to look as messy as they did, he headed to Defense against the dark arts.

Claudia and Emerick greeted him, while Charles seemed distant.

"Dear god, I want this day done", Claudia stated, sometime later, amidst taking notes on vampires, imps and dealing with werewolves.

"Tell me about it!" Dreogan nearly yelled.

"Didn't get much sleep last night", she said.

"Sleep? What's that?" Charles whined.

"What we didn't get last night", Dreogan answered.

"Do you know if my parents are coming today?" Charles asked, with some hesitation.

"Uh, sorry no", Dreogan raised his shoulders.

"Didn't you see Hope…your mum last night?" Charles raised an eyebrow.

"No, Professor Jordan came and spoke to me after you two had fallen asleep, he sent me to sleep after we talked some. I'll see her today, after classes end", Dreogan elaborated.

"Well, okay then."

"What I'm wondering is when the Aurors will want to talk to us. Can't be losing classes, we already lost potions", Claudia said.

"Oh, the humanity!" Charles retorted.

"We can't be missing classes now, I need to maintain first for my year in my house at least", Emerick said.

"Oh, the humanity!" Dreogan said, making Claudia and Emerick swallow a laughter.

"I was surprised Ethel got first for our year, last year. It's not often a Hufflepuff does so. Usually it's Ravenclaws and Slytherins who battle for first, and sometimes A Gryffindor will sneak in."

"If only I wasn't in Slytherin…I don't want to get points for Slytherin."

"House cup's done deal this year. What with the one thousand points you got", Charles pointed out, bitterly.

"Not why I did it…"

"Result's the same."

"What is the matter with you? I thought you said we're okay, have I done something to upset you?" Dreogan asked.

"No", Charles went back to his taking notes.

"What's going on?" Dreogan asked. Neither Claudia or Emerick knew.

"This day needs to end…", he said.

"You are going to ruin your knee, calm down!" Claudia told him, his knee pistoning up and down, impatiently.

"We need to change the dictionary for the word "hyperactive", Dreogan laughed at Emerick's quip.

"And for "git" Charles mumbled under his breath. Dreogan ignored him.

"She's not going anywhere, relax", Claudia tried to calm him down.

"What would you do? If you were me?"

"Oh, I'd be out that door ages now", Claudia replied.

They went through the rest of the class and herbology after divination and History of magic, learning slug repellents and bowtruckles. Claudia and Emerick had used the History of magic class to grab an hour's worth of sleep.

"Professor Horsewood, how is she?" Dreogan asked, they were cleaning up the area they had worked on.

"Have you thought of anything else today?" She smiled. "I guess your restraint is admirable considering the circumstances. I'd give you house points but it's ridiculous how far ahead Slytherin is."

"When can I see her? Is she okay?" Dreogan insisted.

"Turn around, Dreogan. She's outside the Greenhouse", Professor Horsewood pointed behind him with her right hand. Her lips curving in a very pleased smile.

"Behind me? Outside?" Dreogan had stood up, turned around and left before she had finished speaking.

"Mum!" he yelled excited, ignoring a few departing second-years' glances.

She hugged, caressing his hair.

"Have you seen the castle?" he asked her.

"Very little, only the distance between the Headmistress' office and here", she said, smiling.

"I'll be your guide for the afternoon!" he grinned wide. "Buckle up!"

"I think you have best clean up first, sweetheart", She pointed at the bits of soil and mud on his robes.

"Oh, that's easy!" He took out his wand, pointing it at his robes. "Scourgify!" The soil and mud vanished.

"Amazing!" Hope uttered.

"Cleaning charm", Dreogan explained.

"Well, consider me charmed!" she exclaimed.

"Eeewww, pun!"

"So, guide me, my handsome prince", She held his arm by his elbow.

"I don't know about prince, but this is the Herbology greenhouse one, where first and second years take Herbology classes, and the Herbology corridor leading to the Great Hall and entrance on the one side and Herbology tower on the other", Dreogan beamed.

"Herbology? What's it used for?"

"Lots of things, I guess. Potions, poisons, cures, ingredients and so on. For example, Mandrake root when adult can be used to cure petrification. If you unroot it without ear protection on, on the other hand it will kill an adult."

"Sounds scary…" she said, worried.

"Nah, a teacher is always present, plus not even seventh years would be allowed to handle an adult Mandrake, we only deal with juveniles", He walked them to the Transfiguration classroom.

"What happens here?"

"Transfiguration classes. Changing one thing into another. Like for example…" He pointed his wand at a cauldron on a wooden desk. "Avifors!" The cauldron warped into several different songbirds.

Hope gasped. "Are they real?"

"Uhu, the real thing", Dreogan nodded.

"That's your wand?"

"Yeah, which has decided to work for a change", He gave it to her.

"What's the hole in the back?" she asked, after examining it.

"No idea was like this when I bought it", She gave it back to him.

He continued the tour of the castle, three hours later they were in the boathouse, looking on the lake and the grounds beyond.

"What's that hut over there?" She pointed at a ruined stone building.

"I don't know. I think it used to be the Gamekeeper's hut, now it's ruined and not used anymore. Beyond it is the forbidden forest."

"Looks ominous", she said shivering. It was getting colder as the afternoon moved on.

"It's full of beasts and the like so, naturally it is forbidden to students", he explained.

"Beasts?"

"Oh, you know…unicorns, centaurs, bowtruckles and so on…acromantulas. Some say there's even dragons in there", He cracked a mischievous grin.

"Acrowhatnow?" she said, trying to take in all the information.

"Oh, huge talking spiders."

"A boarding school wasn't what I had intended. Are you sure you…" He interrupted her, his eyes bulging out.

"I want to be here? Absolutely. It's home. And the only school in Britain I can go to", he stated matter-of-factly.

"I thought you couldn't do magic without your wand?" she inquired.

"I don't have a wand to do magic, I have a wand because I can do magic. Wands are conduits, conducting magic ensuring it's not erratic or dangerous for both caster and anyone else around it. I can do wandless magic, all wizards and witches can, but it's unfocused, dangerous and potentially lethal and only the most powerful and highly trained wizardfolk can do it, safely.

"It'd be dangerous for me to go to a muggle…nonmagical school. Wands are there to help us focus magical energy, make it safe. Let me give you an example, say you take me with you when you leave Hogwarts and take away my wand, say you put me in a muggle school where someone, a bully makes me angry, really angry and without meaning to, unable to control magic or my emotions I end up hurting him."

"Hurt him? How?" She was even more worried, now.

"Azrail never tortured you?" He knew it wasn't an easy question to answer.

"N…not physically", she stammered.

Dreogan turned his head left and right searching for something. "See that tree over there?" She nodded.

"Sectusempra", he voiced, and a silver jet left his wand, hitting the tree, splitting bark pieces off it as if it had been hacked by a sword. "Stand well behind me, please", She took a step behind him and three more back.

Pointing his free hand at the tree, he placed his wand in his robes' pocket. "Sectusempra!" There was a shockwave, deep silver and turbulent and a jet left his hand hitting the tree. This time there weren't some splinters but rather the whole tree exploded as if it had been hit multiple times by a grenade.

"Imagine this happening, and instead of a tree it's a boy my age. Imagine me losing control of my emotions and rather than casting a verbal or continuous spell, there's just an explosion of magical energy. Then imagine having to explain this to everyone else, let alone the fact I may have just killed someone…No, I belong here where I can learn to use this for good, to focus and channel it safely. And where all my friends are."

He took out his wand and cast Reparo at the tree a few times, it wasn't fully healed or repaired, but it'd survive.

"Your sister's husband said it best when he was explaining a muggle item to me, last year. So, I'll paraphrase him. Magic is a tool, it's up to us to use it to improve lives or destroy them. I chose to try and improve them. Please, don't ask me to forgo what and who I am."

"When did you get to be so wise? You're right…I have no right to barge into your life now, and demand you change…what you are", She nodded, trying to smile.

He beamed at her. "There's so much I want to ask you", They walked along the lake's shore.

"Like? I ain't telling you any embarrassing baby stories", She hid a smile.

"Spoilsport! Come on! Tell me everything!" She laughed.

"I was always the rebel and the warrior one. Sis was the mediator and diplomat, no wonder she became a therapist", Hope said.

"I'm sure you'd have become a world-class neurosurgeon if…you know…" Dreogan fiddled with his fingers, feeling awkward.

"How…?" Hope felt astonished at him knowing this.

"Your sister. Well, I didn't know she was your sister at the time, but one day I noticed Charles giving his mother white sand lilies, she looked sad and happy at the same time so I kinda knew who it was for. That day I saw a picture of you two and she told us about that night and what had been your dreams before. She has never stopped looking for you, you know", Dreogan recounted last summer's day.

"And I never would have, for as long as I lived", A voice came from behind them.

Startled, they turned to see Helen with Peter coming up to them from the castle's drawbridge entrance.

For a second time in two days Hope felt herself scream involuntarily while upon seeing her sister's face after twelve years, her knees gave way under her, her hands covering her face.

Hope run to her, falling on her knees, hugging her while Dreogan walked up to Peter offering his hand in handshake.

"H…hello, sir", Peter shook his hand, giving him a warm smile.

"I guess…this makes us…you my uncle?" He hesitated a moment.

"Yes, indeed. What an amazing and strange thing, you and Charles finding each other like this", Dreogan nodded, his eyes locked at the two sisters, who just stood there in each other's embrace.

"They've hoped for this moment for twelve years. For your mother, this moment comes second only to seeing you yesterday for the first time, I'm sure", Peter said, following the boy's eyes.

"Yeah…I hope so. My life has been filled with sorrow. The last two years leading to this have been…thank you", Peter patted his back.

Charles approached, his hands in his pockets, looking moody.

Dreogan waved at him. Charles ignored him, hugging his father.

"Hey dad."

"Charles, you must be curious to get to know your aunt. What a wonderous moment this is," Peter replied.

"Sure", Charles replied, trying to look cheerful.

"Last time I saw your mother even remotely as happy as this, was when she gave birth to you and your brothers."

"You think?" Charles looked up at his father's face, scrutinizing it closely.

"Absolutely. You three are why we wake up in the morning. Never doubt that, son."

Some few minutes later Hope helped Helen up, and approached them.

Helen gave Dreogan a hug, tight, close and more heartfelt than ever before. "Thank you, thank you so much for this. For bringing back my sister. So, you are officially family, now", she told him, wiping her eyes clean.

"Yes, ma'am", Dreogan nodded, smiling, and feeling even a little self-conscious.

"Don't you ma'am me, young man! I did not like it before, I absolutely forbid it now. Ya hear me Mister?" Helen told him, waving her index finger at him.

Peter, Dreogan and Hope laughed. "Aunt or Helen will do just fine."

Dreogan smiled. "Aunt Helen, uncle Peter. I like the sound of it!"

"Get used to it. Soon come all the embarrassing baby stories", Peter chuckled.

Dreogan grinned wide. "I have none…funny ones at least."

"It would seem you have an advantage over us, but that's what are families for!", Peter exclaimed.

"To undo my advantage and regret ever having it in the first place?" Dreogan wondered aloud.

"But of course, Dreogan, dear", Helen said. "Can't have you lording it over the rest of us."

Dreogan laughed. "I can't wait to hear Charles' baby stories."

"Don't you dare!" Charles spat at his parents before charging off towards the castle.

"What's the matter with him?" Peter asked, surprised.

"Search me...I thought he'd be ecstatic we are family and not _just_ best of friends, but he's been like this since yesterday."

"I think I may have an inkling. If you'll excuse me a moment", Helen said, leaving after her son.

"Come on, there's still things I wanna show you", Dreogan told his mother.

"Lead the way", Hope said, giving Peter a hug.

"Who would have thought…my nephew giving me a tour of a school about magic, housed in an amazing castle, in Scotland!" Peter said, following them.

"I know. A lot of things, both good and bad, have happened the last few years", Hope replied. "This is definitely the best one, though", She passed a hand around Dreogan's shoulders.

Dreogan walked them to the main entrance of the castle, leading them to the Great Hall, and from there to the Grand Staircase.

"This place...never ceases to amaze…", Peter breathed out.

"This is the Grand Staircase, it leads to…well most of the rest of the castle", Dreogan told them.

"The paintings are moving!" Peter exclaimed.

"Well, yeah. It'd be boring if they had to be in the same place all day long. The stairs also move around as they so damn well please…", Dreogan replied, chuckling.

"How? Is it holographic animation?" Peter asked, examining one up close.

"There's a spell-potion mix that turns them quasi-sentient", Dreogan explained.

"Oh, my days!" A knight in a painting yelled. "Do my eyes deceive me? Normals in the castle? The days of yore are upon us! Pitchforks and pyres next! Sound the alarm! Fetch my sword!"

"Some are more…rowdy than others. Gadogan, the pale lady is looking for you",

"Shhhh! She cannot find me! A knight like me does not wear laced frocks!", Gadogan said, before vanishing to a nearby landscape painting.

Dreogan laughed, "Works every single time."

They climbed the moving stairs until the sixth floor where Dreogan led them past an arched doorway. On one side there was a vaulted corridor and on the other side the outer wall's parapets, a painting, an arched doorway with a winged gargoyle on it and some more parapets and doorways until the end of the corridor and a large oak, barred door.

"That's the Headmistress' office, guarded by the gargoyle", Dreogan said. "The colonnade next to it leads to the Gryffindor Common room and dorms. After it the door to the prefects' bathroom, the bridge to the Ravenclaw common room and dorms, the caretaker's office…vacant now then stairs leading to the seventh floor and…I have no idea what's behind the barred oak door at the end."

Half an hour later they were at the top of the Astronomy tower, tallest tower in the whole school.

"Hogwarts is…huge", Hope said.

Peter squeezed Dreogan's shoulder, trying to gain his attention. "A centaur! An actual, living, centaur!" he whispered, like a little boy.

"Professor Ixion, my uncle Peter and my mother Hope Burton. Professor Ixion teaches Astronomy and divination", Dreogan said, as the centaur approached them.

"Pleased to meet you, professor Ixion", Hope said, unsure of if she should extend her hand in handshake or not.

"A progenitor found, one lost to one's own shadow, the wheel turns for all and the wanderer realizes not", she replied, looking at Dreogan.

"Doesn't realize what, Professor?"

"Themself. In the end, our own mirror reflects brighter and stronger than any outside source of light or darkness. Either can illuminate or blind."

"How can darkness illuminate?" Dreogan felt weird.

"By avoiding battle with it, by understanding it, by not becoming it to defeat it."

"Wise words", Peter said.

"Stargazers usually are. Good day", she said and left them.

"Are centaurs always so…so…enigmatic?" Hope asked, astonished at the event.

"Haven't seen any of the others in Hogwarts' herd, living in the forbidden forest, but I get the feeling she's rather _chatty_ by centaur standards."

"What's the rings up in the air, in the distance?" Hope pointed at the three metal hoops.

"Oh, that's the Quidditch pitch", Dreogan said.

"Quidditch? What's that!" Hope cried.

"Where's Charles? He can live off the thing!" Peter laughed.

"It's the main wizarding sport, played in brooms, up in the air."

"That sounds dangerous!" Hope said.

"That's why we have a Hospital Wing!" Dreogan teased her. "Just kidding! Just kidding! No one's died from it in centuries", Dreogan chortled.

"It's a shame Charles didn't make his House's team, he'd be playing against Claudia later today", Dreogan said. "That'd have been interesting!"

"He did write to us about that. Perhaps he will be accepted next year, if there's an opening", Peter replied.

"You don't sound too disappointed he didn't make it", Dreogan said.

"I'd be glad if he had, I'm sad he didn't because he's sad he didn't and I'm proud of him regardless. He tried, that's what matters. He gave it his best regardless of the outcome, and that's all I ask of him or his brothers", Peter told him.

Dreogan smiled nodding.

"I want to ride a broom", Hope stated.

"Uh…not sure it's possible, but we can…attempt it…follow me."

"I'm new to this parenting thingy but is it good when your kid has this kind of mischievous grin about him?", Hope asked Peter, who laughed.

"No, it is usually quite the opposite" Dreogan led them down the various corridors and stairs of the Astronomy tower and in the Entrance Hall.

Dreogan stood in front of a small wooden door, looked left and right a couple of times before pointing his wand at the lock.

"Alohomora", The lock sprang open.

Brooms of various shapes and sizes were placed in the closet. Dreogan grabbed one, closing the door.

"Why do I have a feeling this is not entirely… _legal_?" Peter stifled a smirk.

"Welllllll…I wouldn't say it's _technically_ illegal, just detention if I'm caught", Dreogan grinned. "Come with me", He walked them to the training grounds.

"Sit behind me," he told his mother, placing the broom between his legs.

She sat behind him, holding on to him. "Oh…I'm suddenly not so sure about thi….aaaaahhh!" Dreogan kicked his feet off the ground and the broom hovered before, with a nudge from him, flying off.

He made a few circles around the training grounds, then veered off closer to the lake and walls when Hope got used to the feeling and stopped screaming like she was in a roller coaster.

"That was…unsettling, yet it was interesting an experience!", she said smiling ear to ear, after they landed.

"There you are!" Helen arrived with Charles, who looked gloomy. "We've been looking for you."

"Hey", Charles greeted him.

"Hey", Dreogan responded.

"I must get this back to the brooms closet", Dreogan pointed at the broom with his head.

"We must be heading back", Helen looked at Peter who nodded.

Dreogan froze. "Will you… are you? Going with them?" He was looking at his mother.

"I'll be staying for a week, the Headmistress has made arrangements for me, so I can stay in a place called Hog's in, in Hogsmeade?"

"It's a wizarding village nearby, students can visit from third year on. A week only?" He looked happy yet disappointed.

"I suggest you get that broom back to its closet, Mr. Gaunt. Ms. Burton, Mr. and Ms. Blake, if you would please come with me."

"Right! Broom? What broom? Reducio!" The broom shrunk down, and he placed it in his pocket.

"Nicely executed, Mr.…" Dreogan interrupted her.

"Not Gaunt, Burton", Horsewood rolled her eyes.

"You shouldn't interrupt the Deputy Headmistress when she's about to award you five points", She cracked a smile.

"Whoops, still…thanks professor."

"I'll see you tomorrow, sweetheart", Hope gave him a hug before kissing his forehead.

He and Charles left for the castle. "Mums are great", Dreogan stated.

"They are bloody amazing! Dads are good too", Charles replied, having regained some of his usual cheer.

14


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12: Stratagems of War

A loud explosion shocked the silent night. "What are we even doing here? In an abandoned Victorian Orphanage?"

"Quit your whining, Sandra. It's not that abandoned, by the looks of it", Bloodfang sneered, sending a spell at a window. It erupted in blue flames.

"Every time we go to battle, I leave behind my toys", Sandra whined.

"Appearances may be deceiving, when it comes to our archangel of Death. We have not fought for Cillian's Imperium Arcana in weeks", Marigold replied, sending a spell which blasted over the front gates.

Bloody, gory battle commenced once they were inside, the defenders giving them no quarter, yet they fell to the last man and woman.

"What are we even doing here, then?"

"You, truly, are the stupidest of the arbiters. Master's searching for something. Innit though?" Marigold told her, with disdain.

Bloodfang tore at man's neck, drinking the blood while killing another woman with his wand.

"Shouldn't be long now," he said, blowing up a barrel-full of a liquid in another room, through an open door.

"Is this it? I thought they'd pack more of a wand…" Marigold sounded disappointed the battle was over so quickly.

"Ministry Aurors can't defeat us, you think a bunch of Rosicrucians will?" Sandra replied, cleaning her hands in her robes.

"What are we searching for?" Bloodfang asked, searching through the rooms.

"We are not", Marigold said. "We are the…welcoming committee", She smiled.

Just then Azrail and Ernaline apparated in.

Azrail progressed through the building, killing a straggler or two. Finding the stairs to the basement he descended them speedily.

"Bloodfang, Marigold with me. Ernaline and Sandra, stay here", he told them, without breaking his stride.

After some one hundred twisting, white stone stairs, winding ever deeper into the Earth they came to a red-bricked dark-lit corridor with just the one door at the other end of it.

Two men guarded it, looking scared and hesitant.

Azrail, cloaked in his pitch-black hooded garment approached them with Marigold and Bloodfang behind him. Marigold in her long, white laced dress and Bloodfang in his red suit and black tie.

"Sanguinis effugium", he said, his wand pointed at them. In seconds they lay on the floor, drained of blood, but somehow still alive. Azrail stood above their scared bodies, looking down on them with anger in his eyes. "Only one person alive knows your pain, rest assured he will join you beyond the veil", He looked up, at the heavy metal doors behind the two dying guardians.

"Marigold do your thing", She studied the doors well, before she begun to remove protective wards and curses placed on them.

It took her a little more over half an hour. With a final tap of her wand silence reigned on the cold corridor.

She looked over at Azrail with a smirk, motioning him to enter.

Azrail extended his hand out, curving it over his head at the doors. "Confrigo!" The doors were blasted inwards, off their hinges, pieces of red brick flying everywhere.

Azrail entered the dark room, lit only by a single torch. It was dump and cold, colder than out in the corridor.

"What are we to find here?" Bloodfang asked, peeking inside.

"Not what, him", Azrail grabbed a man, lying on the floor with his back up against the wall and dissaparated.

They landed in a dark, moist room.

"Ready?" Azrail asked his twin sister.

"Always", she replied, landing next to him.

Azrail motioned with his head and Bloodfang forced the man to his knees.

"Where am I? Who might you be?" The man, a thin, scrawny, white-bearded man with cyan-ice eyes asked him with a heavy ascent.

Azrail kneeled in front of him. "There are more important matters to discuss. I have been researching the items the Old Gods left behind. I have been…consumed with desire to find them. You are the last of your order, I used my father's war to find them and kill them all. So, let us assume I have asked you some questions, you have done your best to lie to me, lead me away from my search, and I know you are lying. Shall we?"

"What order? What do you want from me?" the man asked, without fear.

"We shall not…crucio", The man doubled over from the pain, Bloodfang holding him from his nape.

"You would…dare torture one such as I?" Azrail, Bloodfang, Ernaline and Marigold were blown back, against the room's walls as the man rose to his feet. "You impudent children!"

"How can he perform such powerful, focused magic without a wand?" Marigold asked in awe as Azrail rose on his feet.

"Wands?" the man asked, in disgust. "Those who have drunk from the holy tree of life and knowledge need no such trinkets to use magic!" he said blasting Marigold to shreds.

Azrail laughed, sounding pleased with himself. "As I thought. Sister if you would, please."

Ernaline waved her wand, lazily and the environment around them dissolved, Azrail still kneeling in front of them and, on his hands and knees, doubled over from the pain.

"You are not the only one with tricks up your sleeves. Bloodfang, Ernaline. I need him alive, but I need him not possessing…hands or feet. Tenderize him. I'll be back later, sister and I have a job to attend to, one years in the making", Azrail stood up.

"It's time?" Ernaline asked him, exiting the room after him.

Azrail nodded with a cruel smile forming on his lips.

"The battle can't be going well for him", she stated.

They walked up some stairs and around a corner and inside a room bare of any furniture, but one throne-like chair made of bones and broken skulls with a skeletal dragon wing on either side of it, alight only by torches emitting purple, red and deep red flames.

Azrail sat on the chair with Ernaline standing to his right and in front of him, four meters away with Marigold to his left. He raised the hood even more, over his face, covering his forehead entirely, down to his green eyes contrasting his pale skin.

Screams echoed from below.

"Will you not wear _it_? We went through all that trouble to acquire it from Athens last year, I'd think you would in this moment", Ernaline asked him, in her usual apathy.

"I will when I am deserving it, soon", he replied, resting his hands on the chair's arms for a second before retrieving his wand. He murmured a spell, now resting his wand hand on his lap.

Not more than ten seconds later his father apparated on the floor in front of them, bloodied and looking tired, very tired.

Azrail said nothing, did nothing.

Cillian got on his hands and knees, panting. "What is this? Why have you not joined me, my children?" His voice strained.

"You have made many an error in this life, father. None, though as calamitous as assuming your interests and desires were also mine", Azrail replied, his voice a mixture of loathing and suffering.

"You are my son, created to facilitate the tasks I had in mind for you."

"Imperium Arcana was never my task, desire or want, father", Seething rage, bubbled in the surface, as Azrail tightened his grip on his wand.

"You fought for it! You will continue to fight for it!" Cillian continued to struggle not realizing the peril he was in.

"We did not fight for it. We created chaos, which helped hide my activities", Azrail explained. "Your gall, though, ends not there, father dearest."

"What other activities? You live to serve your brother, once he accepts my invitation and his destiny", Cillian tried to stand up.

"Tell me father. While you controlled that Adams bitch…did you use her to cast one of my invented spells on anyone? A Hogwarts Ravenclaw student perhaps?" asked Azrail, now shaking in rage.

"Your spells? What you created was never yours, it is for the…"

"Crucio!" Azrail bellowed rising to his feet. Cillian did not scream.

"In twenty years, father, in twenty fucking years you have not once called me by my fucking name.! CALL ME BY MY NAME!" Azrail teared up.

"Stop this nonsense, son! Don't force me to punish you, again", Cillian would not relent.

"You! You would DARE use my inventions! The arrogance! The gall! CRUCIO!" Azrail exploded at his father.

Cillian tried to stand up, after crucio wore off and cast a curse at his son. The other three had yet to move a muscle.

"Crucio doloribus!" Cillian fell back down on the floor, vomiting. "Accio wand. Confrigo deleo", Cillian's wand exploded in three big pieces.

"No, father. Crucio! You had your way, now it is _my_ turn. The shadows no longer service my needs. Your shadow is not required or wanted. Crucio", Cillian lay on the floor, a mess of his own creation.

"Crucio! Crucio! Crucio!" Azrail unleashed on his father, before turning to his sister."

"Want to have some fun, sister? No one is more wronged or hurt by him than you."

Ernaline pointed her wand at her father, a wide grin on her lips. "Crucio animus!" Cillian arched his back, releasing a voiceless scream. "You would dare to possess my body? Oh, father will I have my fun with thee. Crucio conscientia!"

"Now, now I am deserving of it. I'll leave you to finish him off, take all the time you want, enjoy this. Marigold, come. We have work to do."

Ernaline cast a curse at her father. Then another and another.

In Hogwarts Dreogan woke up, drenched in sweat and panting.

"Fuck", He fell back on his bed where he remained, until it was time for breakfast some hours later.

He sat next to his friends, feeling tired. "You saw it as well?" He asked, seeing them just as weary.

Charles nodded, rubbing his eyes. "I felt the pain…vomited in my sleep…" His voice trailed.

"It was horrible…" Emerick confirmed. "How can a human being have so much hatred…"

"MY house's prefect thought I was being attacked, by how loud I screamed in my sleep", Claudia said, trying to sip some tea.

"I'm sorry you all had to go through that", Dreogan apologized, he felt even more horrible now.

"You didn't cause this, mate", Emerick tried to console him.

"Yeah, I keep hoping the Ministry will catch them, already", Charles said.

"What I'd like to know is why did we all see this? Azrail did not seem to know we were."

"He did not seem aware of us participating, no", Claudia nodded.

"There's something that's bothering me…what happens to me, now?" Dreogan voiced in a low voice.

"Hmm? You remain in Hogwarts?" Claudia replied, uncertain of what he meant.

"And during vacations? What if Azrail inherits everything and somehow, _I_ can't pay for Hogwarts? What if I no longer have a house to go to? Can I even live with my mum yet? And what about you? It's been a month and you still haven't told me what happened…" Dreogan told Charles, before storming out of the Great Hall.

Charles and Emerick looked stunned, Claudia less so.

"Uhm…you should go after him, mate", Emerick told him.

"Even Emerick got that! What are you even still doing here?!" Claudia tried not to laugh. "He's the only cousin you have, go!"

"Hey!" Emerick said, not really offended.

"Right…" Charles run after Dreogan, catching up with him outside by the lake's shore.

"Wait, please!" Charles yelled at him. Dreogan stopped walking, keeping his hands by his sides. The sun was rising from beyond the mountains, bathing the castle in hues of red and orange, clouds reflected on the lake.

"I'm sorry."

"Why? Why did you behave as you did?" Dreogan asked. "I thought you'd be ecstatic we are not only friends but family, like I was…" He sat on the moist soil.

Charles sat next to him, his head lowered. "That's the problem…"

"You don't want us to be family?" Dreogan said incredulously.

"Yes…no…I don't want to have to share you with my brothers, okay! Everything I've ever had, I've had to share with them, and finally…finally I have a best friend, a brother just for me and now you are family and I…I just feel cheated", Charles said, sad.

"Is that it? You…that's just stupid! You are my best friend and that's not changing, doufus! You ain't got to share me with anyone, any more than you already did during the summer. Out of all the people that could have befriended me, you did! You did not because you knew who I was or for what I could do for you and your family, but because you liked me. Being family should be a wonderous thing, not something to make you sad. You showed me kindness and compassion when no one else would or had. If for no other reason than that alone I will forever be your best friend and there is no force in this galaxy that can change this."

There was a momentary silence.

"I'm sorry, mum told me much the same", Charles sighed. "You're right, I'm sorry and yeah us being related is great! Who would have thought!" Dreogan smiled.

"Yeah! Now I can learn all your lil' embarrassing baby stories!" Dreogan grinned from ear to ear.

"Don't you dare!" They laughed.

"Oh hey, it's Caladrius and my Bella!" Charles said, as Dreogan's Augurey and his brown, tawny owl landed next to them.

"Oh, it's a letter from mum about my birthday", Charles said, opening the envelope Bella had brought. "And yours? Aunt Hope?"

"No, I mean we mail almost daily, but this is from a lawyer friend of Claudia's father. Wizarding one", Dreogan replied, opening the white envelope sealed with red wax and a law firm's initials.

"Changing my name. I am no longer Dreogan Delphin Cadmus Gaunt Riddle Lestrange. I want to be Elario Felix Burton."

7


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13: Fatherless

A silent spring washed over Hogwarts. The war seemed to have come to an abrupt halt, with most significant battles leaving them behind, yet as spring progressed there was an eerie feeling about, as if something was wrong, and would soon drop the other shoe on them.

"We'll get caught! Hurry up!" Emerick whispered.

"This is an art! Gimme a sec!" Dreogan whispered back, his wand making patterns in the air, casting spells. "Keep watch. I won't be but a minute."

They were in the Great Hall, standing next to Slytherin table.

"Quick!" Charles exclaimed. "Someone's coming over."

"Fuck, it's one of Slytherin Prefects, hide!" Emerick said, looking around for a good place to hide all three of them.

"Where? There's nowhere…" Charles was interrupted.

"Latebra!" A female voice's whispered spell came from behind them. "Don't move and don't make a sound."

With hearts beating fast, they saw the Slytherin prefect, a blond boy with very round face and even rounder circumference, pass them by.

All three of them spun on their heels, wanting to see the owner of the voice. Claudia grinned at them, batting her eyelashes, appearing slowly, as if from behind a vanishing mirror.

"What are _you_ doing here?!" Dreogan beamed, surprised.

"Looking after you lot, apparently", she said. "Shame on you, not letting me in, in the fun."

"Uh…we thought you were too serious for pranks", Emerick said, even more surprised than Dreogan.

"Who doesn't like a good prank? Especially when aimed at a table-full of Slytherins!" Claudia rubbed her hands together, smirking evilly.

"Right, we were wrong, now help please? I'm trying to make this dungbomb larger and conceal it without it going kaboom!" He pointed at a dungbomb levitating up in the air, above the Slytherin table.

"Oh, you're using the wrong spell, that's why. May I?" she asked, getting her wand ready.

"By all means!" Dreogan stepped aside.

"There, done", she declared about five minutes later.

"Great, let's get out of here", Dreogan said.

They left the Great Hall and headed to the Library, to study for the upcoming end-of-term exams they knew were incoming.

Dreogan stared at the restricted section.

"Do you wonder? What happened to it?" He whispered, revising Ghouls and imps for Defense against the dark arts.

"It?" Emerick didn't lift his head from his notes on potions.

"The book of leaves. Sometimes I wonder what happened to it, after we found it last year."

"That book's trouble, I wish Headmistress Adams sent it somewhere far away and probably safer", Emerick replied, turning a page.

"What could be safer than Hogwarts?" Claudia wondered, reading her transfiguration notes. "The Ministry isn't, and I doubt Gringotts would bε, even with all the curse-breakers, spellbinders and Goblins about."

"Well Hogwarts might be safe, but the Restricted section in the Library, clearly, wasn't", Emerick shrugged.

"I'd hide it in plain sight, where was it hidden before your brother found it?" Claudia asked Dreogan.

"The Restricted section for four years", Dreogan replied.

"What? How do you know?" Claudia and Emerick lifted their heads from their notes.

"I don't…don't know, I just do?" Dreogan shrugged, his face demonstrating his utter ignorance on the matter.

"Before that?" Charles asked.

"No idea", Dreogan said. "Hey, I'm as perplexed about this as you are", seeing their surprised looks at him.

"Well, no mind. We have homework to finish", Claudia said, lowering her gaze again.

"Potions and Herbology…joy", Dreogan opened his rolls of parchment.

"I wish they'd do something about the lighting in the library, it's dimmed down somehow", Emerick whined, casting Lumos with his wand. It was bright daylight outside.

An hour later and as Dreogan was finishing up his Potions revision and homework assignments Professor Horsewood entered the library.

"Oh god, now what?" Dreogan whispered.

"I'm not even going to pretend to say, "Maybe it's not about you" mate." Dreogan made a guttural laughing noise.

"Maybe it'll be something nice, for a change!"

"Oh, who are we kidding…there's a bigger chance we find sentient extraterrestrial life in the new Mars Colony!" Emerick said.

"Hey! I actually know about this!" Dreogan exclaimed, in a hushed whisper.

"You've been reading muggle news?" Claudia seemed astonished.

"That too! The Daily Prophet had a coverage article about the first non-Earth Magical School that opened up in there, in a location called…Syria Planum?" Dreogan explained, enjoying knowing about the subject.

"Oh yeah! They named the school Celestialis Arcanum…apt!"

"Mr.…Burton?" Professor Horsewood winked at him.

"Not official just yet, but thank you, professor!"

"I'll have to ask you to come with to my office, please", she said, her voice trying to sound normal.

"Uh, ma'am I didn't…"

"I am not about to accuse you of anything, but I will need you to come with me. Your friends can come if they so want."

"Is my mum okay?" Dreogan shot up.

"As far as I know your mother's doing fine in Cornwall with her sister's family. Can you please, just once follow me without questions?" She tried to maintain a calm voice, even though with some effort.

Claudia stifled a laugh. They gathered their things and followed her.

"Please, wait out here", Professor Horsewood told the other three, holding the door to her office open for Dreogan.

Dreogan entered, after a fleeting look at Charles who shrugged.

An Auror was there, an Asian-looking man with high cheekbones, rainbow, short hair and lanky stature, in long black robes and pants.

Another man, dressed in a fine silk brown suit, and pants sat cross-legged next to the Auror. A briefcase stood next to his chair.

"My father. He's dead, isn't he?" Dreogan asked, when Horsewood shut the door behind her.

The Auror looked at Horsewood who nodded.

"Indeed, we found his body…or what was left of it earlier today. My condolences…Mr. Gaunt", the man said. He tried to not look as happy as he was.

"I don't think anyone, anywhere, including me is sorry he's dead", Dreogan replied.

"I took the liberty and called over Mr. Ian McCormack as well, who I believe you have hired as your solicitor?" Professor Horsewood told him, introducing the man in the nice suit.

Dreogan shook his hand. "It is good to see you, in person, soon-to-be-Mr. Felix Burton", The man smiled at him. He looked to be in his mid-forties, with black glistening hair finely combed to fall from one side to the other, going from longer in the front to shorter in the back. Dreogan smiled back, looking into the man's amber eyes and feeling the powerful arm grind his hand during the handshake.

"Likewise, sir."

"The Auror needs your attention, then I will require it", Mr. McCormack told him, sitting back down.

"Your father's body was found in a rather…bad state. He was badly tortured for days if not weeks. Someone within his organization must have…"

"My siblings, they are coming out of the shadows, they no longer require them, or him", Dreogan interrupted him.

"Likely, but we have no proof of it", the Auror said.

"I and others saw it in a dream that wasn't a dream. They forced him to apparate in front of them from a battle in Brazil and began to torture him", Dreogan continued.

"We will need to verify this", The Auror wasn't agreeing with him, but he wasn't getting angry either.

"Take your time, it's not like Azrail and Ernaline are out there, plotting on how to destroy your organization. How did you find him? Can't imagine an Auror was taking a walk through a forest and found him", Dreogan on the other hand was feeling peeved.

"We got an anonymous letter, providing us with the location. It was written in his blood", the Auror told him.

"They wanted him found? Why?" Professor Horsewood spoke.

"Have the attacks stopped as the Daily Prophet says they have?" Dreogan asked.

"Mostly, we also found another two bodies, two of your father's top supporters.", the Auror said.

"Two of his generals, you mean? So, Azrail cleaned house."

"Is there anything else? I'd like a moment alone with my client", McCormack interjected in a calm yet confident voice.

"One final thing. In his mouth there was a note. "Give it to me, or I'll come get it", Do you have any idea what it means?" , the Auror asked, staring straight into Dreogan's eyes.

"Not a clue", Dreogan tried his best to remain completely emotionless in his reply. He looked at professor Horsewood out of the corner of his eye, who shook her head "no".

The Auror nodded and left, making a small bow at Professor Horsewood.

"I'll leave you two alone", Professor Horsewood exited after the Auror, closing the door behind her.

"We have two matters to discuss. First, the issue of you changing your name. It was impossible before due to the fact that your father could not be consulted on the matter…or any matter and he would not consent to it, I believe". Dreogan nodded his head. "Now, though I'm guessing your mother will agree? She is now your legal guardian", McCormack paused.

"Yeah!" Dreogan beamed.

"As to the second matter. It has not been long since you contacted me, asking for my professional aid, so I don't know everything yet, but…I have to ask you to keep this to yourself, for now. Your brother may have spies even in Hogwarts."

"Not even Charles, my friends or mum?" Dreogan asked, taking a seat in one of the empty chairs.

"No one for now, until I can finalize everything on my end. It is imperative for your sake as well as the safety of me, my family and your mother that you don't speak a word of this to anyone, as you may be overheard, and your siblings may find out", McCormack's voice left no room for misinterpretation on if he was being serious.

"Okay…" Dreogan agreed, halfheartedly.

"I'll tell your mother myself, in person as she's going to need to know, being your legal guardian from now on, and owls can be intercepted."

"Can holographic messages be intercepted?" Dreogan grinned.

"That's muggle technology? I suspect it might be. I have a friend in the Ministry who works in the new spells department. She says Azrail's portal spell 'contains' holographic technology…somehow", the lawyer said.

"Okay, I won't tell anyone", Dreogan relented.

Fifteen minutes later he came out of Horsewood's office, looking lost deep in thought.

"What's up?" Claudia asked him. The three of them rising from the bench they sat on.

"Father's dead", Dreogan stated, looking up at them.

They hugged him, in a group hug. "I'm so sorry!" Claudia told him.

"Thanks, but why? I'm not! Now, there's no obstacles to me changing my name and I can live with mum!" Dreogan replied, looking happy.

"Still, he is…was your dad, mate", Charles said.

"No, he gave material to an unwilling woman, then denied me to her and allowed my siblings to torture both of us in different ways. He's a sperm donour, not a father. You have a father who cares, loves you and would die and kill to protect you."

"Perhaps anger will pass with time, we as your friends are sorry for your loss", Emerick said.

"I'm thankful, but loss it is not", Dreogan said. "It's release, now if only Azrail and Ernaline could die off, that'd be great! What class do we have next?" Dreogan asked, disengaging from their hug.

"You sure you want to…" Claudia started saying.

"Absolutely."

"Potions, oh hello Mr. McCormack, sir!" Claudia greeted her father's friend.

"Good morning Claudia, your mother and father often speak of you and your academic achievements," he replied.

Claudia blushed by his words and intense gaze. "Oh, eh…thank you."

"Yes, parents can be embarrassing that way", He chuckled, nodding at Dreogan who nodded back.

The rest of the school day went by uneventful, as news of Cillian's demise had not been made public, and Dreogan and his friends did not hasten the inevitable release of it.

After classes were done Dreogan motioned at them with his head, and in silence walked to the seventh-floor corridor, and inside the room of requirement.

"I need to tell you two things that I don't want anyone overhearing or eavesdropping on and you three have…must swear to me you won't breath to another person. To anyone!" He told them after the room's doors had closed firm behind them.

"I swear, what is it! Don't keep me in agony!" Charles said.

"Give it to me, or I'll come get it", Dreogan paused for a second. "It was written in his blood, in a piece of parchment, stuck in father's mouth when they found him. Ministry either don't know or are not admitting they know what Azrail wants but Professor nodded when I glanced at her."

Emerick and Claudia spoke at the same time. "The Book of leaves."

"So, Azrail sent you a message by alerting the Ministry to the location of your father's body?" Claudia asked.

"Not me, he can tell me anything he wants in those dreams-that-are-not-dreams. This message was meant for the Headmistress. He believes the book is still in Hogwarts."

"Impossible. The Headmistress would have sent it off by now, after last year", Charles exclaimed.

"Nothing's impossible, but yeah you're probably right", Dreogan replied back.

"What's the second thing? You said two things", Claudia asked, clearly anxious.

"McCormack told me to not tell anyone about this, in case Azrail has spies in Hogwarts. He will eventually tell my mum himself so that an owl can't be intercepted but…room of requirement. No one can hear us or eavesdrop on us here. You can't tell _anyone_ about this, not your other friends, not your parents, not even yourselves during your sleep, no one", Dreogan prologued.

"Yes, okay. Out with-it man!" Charles said, on tiptoe.

"I…father left everything to me. I am his sole heir. For legal reasons he left two galleons to Azrail and Ernaline, each. But, everything else is mine…when McCormack finishes with the whole bureaucracy of it all…"

7


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14: Hiding in plain sight

"When you say everything….?" Charles was the first one to break the stunned silence.

"Everything, every piece of property, coin in Gringotts, every business contract, everything under the sun, belonging to the family fortune", Dreogan answered.

"That's…how much are we even talking about?" Emerick asked, his voice stuttering.

"I haven't the foggiest…shitloads describes it best. Father's desire to amassing wealth was insatiable…to say the least."

"That means…you'll be filthy rich! That's great!"

Dreogan shook his head. "It is everything but great. It's blood money and I want nothing to do with it."

"I guess you're right…what are you going to do with it?" Charles asked.

"I've no idea, help the families of father's victims as best I can. McCormack and mum will have to be the ones to manage it officially until I come of age, sixteen in the wizarding world. I'll end up donating most of it, all I need is a home for me and mum and then one for me after I "leave home", so she can keep the other one", Dreogan shrugged his shoulders.

"Your brother is not going to be pleased much when he learns of this", Emerick said skeptically.

"Oh, I expect he'll be downright murderous, but it'll be a year or more until it's all done and settled, so I'm hoping he'll be caught before then…somehow…", Dreogan said.

"What happens when you get control of it all? To your siblings I mean", Charles raised an eyebrow.

"They get nothing and unless Dreogan choses to they can't reside in any of…his property either", Claudia replied.

"I intent to lock them out of everything, nowhere to live, no money, nothing", Dreogan said.

"Oh, you are so unbelievably dead! Can you please name me as your heir?" Charles joked, batting his eyelashes. A trick he'd learned from Claudia.

"You ass! Oh, I will. Then Azrail can murder you as well!" Dreogan quipped back, poking his tongue at his cousin.

"Nuuuuu! Okay, better alive and not rich!" They laughed.

"So, do we think the Book of Leaves is still in Hogwarts?" Claudia asked, changing the subject.

"Azrail seems to think so", Dreogan shrugged.

"I guess we'll be visiting the restricted section, again?" Emerick asked.

"Why? If it is still in Hogwarts, it ain't in there, can't be safe and hidden if everyone's aware it's there", Dreogan said.

"We must know, and to learn we must be relentless!" Emerick exclaimed, pointing his right index finger up in the air.

"Ravenclaws…if your brother thinks it is in Hogwarts, and you or Headmistress don't give it to him…do you think he's coming for it? "cause it sounds like it", Claudia wondered, worried.

"He won't dare, not while the Ministry stands, even if weakened by the ongoing war", Emerick tried to assure himself as well as her.

"While it still stands…father's dead and Azrail no longer seems to care for the shadows. The Ministry is in more danger than they realize", Dreogan sat down in one of the chairs provided by the room.

"Emerick's right about one thing though, we must learn. Revise for the term finals. They're getting closer", Claudia said.

"No, they're not! We have a month!" Charles whined.

Claudia snorted. "What's closer, then to you?"

"I don't know…a week?" Charles shrugged.

Claudia rolled her eyes.

"There's more important things to worry about!" Charles exclaimed.

"Let me guess. Quidditch?" Dreogan laughed.

"Yaaass! Three days to Huffs versus ravens!" Charles beamed.

Claudia sighed. "I'm going to the library, anyone want to come with?" She stood up.

"Don't you have Quidditch practice?" Dreogan asked her.

"Later, first I need to get transfiguration homework and revision."

"I'm going to the courtyard to play Gobstones", Charles said. "Dragon breath rules."

"I'll come with you", Emerick said, standing up.

"I have a letter to write to mum, I'll catch up with you later", Dreogan told them, exiting the room of requirement.

He went to his dorm, sat cross-legged on his bed and took out a piece of parchment, his quill and ink.

Mum,

I guess by the time Caladrius arrives, you'll have learned all about how you are my legal guardian and all. Now, I can legally change my name! (Elario) Felix Burton! I can't believe it.

Time passes by quick here, seems only yesterday you were here, and now in a month we have final exams for the year and then I'm coming over! Summer vacations! They are going to be freaking amazing, you, me, Charles, his bros and parents!

How are you? Did you start the therapy thing you mentioned in your last mail? I hope everything's fine! Kiss aunt Helen and the imps for me, please.

Love,

Felix Burton

He walked to the owlery, and attached the letter on Caladrius' claw, gave the Augurey a treat, scratching him under his beak. He croaked a happy croak and left.

Dreogan returned to the castle, through the lush flowered green field and searched for the charms Professor.

He found him returning to his office.

"Sir!" he yelled from across the corridor. The man stopped walking, turning around to see who was yelling.

"Hullo, sir. I think I know how we can stop my brother from opening anymore portals in Hogwarts", he said, catching his breath.

"Follow me, Mr. Gaunt", Professor Rawthorn told him.

They entered his office, some ten minutes later. A small space, with a desk, three chairs and four torches along with some candles on the stone desk.

"How?" The professor asked him.

"I found one of his inventions' notebooks a few years ago, and I have been trying to decode them. It's not _exactly_ been a fast process…" Dreogan explained, before removing a few pages from the pocket inside his robes. "Follow what it says in here, and he should become unable to cast the portal spell in Hogwarts and grounds", He stretched his hand, offering the inked pages to Professor Rawthorn.

"I'll take a look, Mr. Gaunt", Rawthorn took the pages, setting them on his desk.

"Anything else, Dreogan?" Rawthorn asked him, as if he expected something.

"No, sir", Dreogan tried not to shrug, he knew Professor Rawthorn wasn't keen of it.

"And here I was thinking you had questions regarding the upcoming quiz on locking and unlocking spells", Rawthorn replied, smiling under his thick moustache.

"I have no questions, sir."

"I have one. It is obvious to me you are a vastly better student than you have been, yet you never put the required effort in it. Why, when you could, easily, be a constant-outstanding-earning student and barely break a sweat?" Rawthorn asked him, sitting on the edge of the white-polished stone desk.

"Slytherin and my father, sir. I don't want Slytherin doing well because of me and doing bad upsets him greatly", Dreogan replied.

"You are the one hurt the most by this, though, no? How much more would you have learned if you tried?" Rawthorn confronted his strategy.

"Who said I've not been learning, sir? I Just fail where and when I must so that Slytherin and my father don't benefit from my knowledge", Dreogan cracked a grin.

"Interesting, and now you are fatherless, will you want your mother feeling proud of your attained knowledge and progress? You were sorted into Slytherin, I'm guessing the Sorting Hat had a reason for it."

"I'm not sure, sir. This is a hard decision to make, hardest one I've had to make in a good long while". "

"I've not seen such bravery since the twentieth century and such cunning and wit since long before that. You have no ambition for power, yet…Gryffindor, you'd fit nicely in there, but you'd be well placed in Ravenclaw as well and Huf…"

"Yes, that might be it! It was ready to place me in Hufflepuff…"H…" it stuttered just before yelling Slytherin. I am not entirely sure it meant to place me in there, sir. And considering my father was controlling the Headmistress back then…"

"Interesting. You have a good memory. You may go, Mr. G…"

"Burton, sir. Just a matter of time", Dreogan left the office.

He found Claudia and Emerick in the library.

"Owl away?" she asked him, raising an eye from he notes.

Dreogan nodded, getting his things out.

"How is she?" Claudia asked.

Dreogan sighed. "She's okay…and trying too hard."

"Isn't that a good thing?" Emerick sounded surprised.

"No…sometimes I feel like she's not even listening to what I'm saying or tries to control my life", Dreogan whined.

"Oh, that's just being a mum, you get used to it and then you learn how to bend them to your will", Claudia gave a sly smile.

"I'm not laughing! It's not her fault but she can't come into my life after nearly thirteen years and expect to take over, or for me to just open up about everything in a day. Now, she even has demands! Don't ride brooms, don't duel, eat this, drink that…" Dreogan groan-sighed loud enough that a distant "sssshhh" from Mr. Thorson was heard after.

Claudia motioned them to follow her to a further away desk, behind some shelves of books.

"I can imagine it is frustrating but try to see it from her point of view. She just got you back, she's afraid of losing you again, or you getting injured. Not to mention her motherly instincts must be going haywire. Last time she held you, you were a newborn baby and now you're nearly a teenager. And to boot it all y'all are traumatized in more ways than one. You need patience, tolerance and borders", she told him, gently.

"When did you get so wise?" He sighed. "I guess you're right. Borders?"

"Yeah, parents aren't the only ones placing them on us, you know. Talk to her, explain things and where logic won't work…you're a teen. Have temper tantrums, meltdowns and sometimes if done right they work nicely to let parents know to back the heck off", She chuckled self-confidently.

"Or you can let them say whatever they want and then just go and do what you wanted to do in the first place! But you know, Claudia's way is more mature…in the long run", Emerick said.

"I'm talking to her, I'm trying to, but sometimes she just won't listen!" Dreogan exasperated.

"Do you know howlers?" Claudia cracked an evil smirk.

"The screaming-voice letters? Yeah?" Dreogan replied, unsure.

"Send her one and tell her angry-like", she replied.

"That…could work…" Dreogan's mind raced faster than his tongue released speaking sounds.

"Oh, god…I can see the cogs working!" Claudia tried to not laugh loudly in the library.

"I don't know what you mean", Dreogan tried to sound innocent.

"Ha! Well, there's one thing you should know, though. She's not going to sit idly by and accept your howler, or you trying to shove some borders her way. She has an arsenal of choices to wield", Claudia warned him, jokingly.

"Ah yes, my favourites are the guilt trips, emotional blackmails, mock anger and misdirections."

"Oh, my favourite is the "I raised you, fed you, put clothes on your back, and now you won't even help me!" But then, especially with my mum, reminding her or taking dad's place puts her off balance", Claudia blew at her fingers as if a bullet had left them.

"Quiet or get out!" Mr. Thorson's voice sounded above them.

Claudia sniggered. "Sorry, sir. We'll be more quiet. I promise", She batted her eyelids in mock-innocence.

"Kids nowadays…sometimes I wish I could unleash my nephew on you all!" Mr. Thorson said as he walked back to his desk.

"Why is this eyelids-thingy work only for you girls?" Emerick joked.

"It's a centuries old art, you can't expect to do it just like that", she joked back.

"Riiight", Dreogan replied, stifling a laugh.

"Jokes aside, mothers are great and all, but if they're doing something you don't like you must tell them, they're not seers, they can't just know something's bothering you if you don't", Claudia told him.

"Yeah, I guess so. It's just weird, I feel like I…should or must love her but...I don't know if what I feel is it…which just makes me feel guilt."

"I don't have to be a therapist to understand that's, probably, logical. I mean she's your mother, but you've been apart for twelve years. You'll both need time to build on what most of us have had since birth. Can't just magically will it to happen, even in our world", Claudia told him.

"I guess so…thanks!" He gave her a hug.

"Anytime. Now, to finish the damned History of Magic essay!" she said getting lost in her writing, again."

"I'm still on potions homework", Dreogan moaned.

"Want my notes?" Emerick asked him, offering a notepad to him.

"Oh, notes are not the problem, I got notes", Dreogan replied.

"It's strange", Emerick commented.

"What's strange?" Claudia asked.

"I don't know, it feels like there's less light in here", Emerick said.

"Cloudy outside?" Dreogan asked raising his shoulders.

"Plus, we're in a corner away from the torches and the windows", Claudia supplied.

"You're probably right. I'm just having more difficulty to see, than usually", Emerick shrugged it off, returning to his writing.

An hour later Dreogan had finished with his homework.

"Going to find Charles, anyone else hungry?" he said shoving his stuff inside his backpack.

"Famished, but I need to finish up here first", Emerick said.

"I'm not hungry, I'll see you later", Claudia said, not raising her eyes from her notes and parchment rolls.

Dreogan left, with a smile.

He found Charles playing Gobstones with Ethel, a Hufflepuff girl their year.

He was about to greet them, when Harold and two of his cronies appeared from the opposite direction, crossed the distance in a stride or two and kicked the Gobstones, laughing.

"Hey! Fuck off!" Charles looked up, angry.

"Or what? Fartface?" Harold sneered at him.

"That the best you can do? Cillian's lackey", Charles taunted him, trying to stand up.

"Levicorpus!" Harold jinxed him, levitating him upside down by his ankles.

"Leave my friend alone!" Ethel yelled. "Tarantallegra!" she threw at Harold, who concentrated as he was at Charles, had no time to react.

Harold begun to dance wildly.

Dreogan full-body-binded one of his cronies, while Charles hit the other one with stupefy.

"Finite incantatem!" Dreogan dropped Charles on the ground.

"Ha! Got him in the eye!" Charles yelled raising to his knees.

"Ya did!" Ethel cheered him. "Hey, I'm Ethel", she told Dreogan.

"Oh, hey. Nice dance jinx there", he told her.

"Ya, thanks! Me mother showed me some shall we say…creative ways to defend meself against daft morons like these ones."

"Shall we put him out of his misery?" Charles asked them, looking at Harold, who looked almost ready to cry.

"Don't temp me!" Dreogan laughed.

Ethel snorted.

"You know what I mean!" They laughed at Charles' mock-anger.

"Let's leave him like this and go, I'm sure a Professor or other student will release him, sooner or later", Ethel shrugged.

"Finite Incantatem", He waited until Harold, panting, rose to his feet. "It doesn't have to be this way, Harold", He tried to reason with the older boy.

"Your brother's ascension is close, this is exactly the way it's supposed to be. First the corrupt Ministry will fall, then Hogwarts will follow. All shall be cleansed in his fire of the Archangel of Death", Harold replied, spitting at his feet.

"You were always a fool, Harold Nott, but now you're a fanatic to a psychopath as well. I underestimated the magnitude of your stupidity", Dreogan left the courtyard with Charles and Ethel.

"What an ass!" Ethel remarked, in the corridor.

"Dangerous ass, rumours have him learning unforgivable curses", Charles remarked.

"Doubt it, but Azrail's another matter", Dreogan said.

"You really think he'll attack the Ministry? It is the most heavily fortified building in England", Ethel asked him, she looked afraid.

"I don't think he'll go with a frontal attack. He will…I don't know how he will do it but he's not stupid to try and attack them from the front door", Dreogan stipulated.

"My parents work in the Ministry", Ethel said.

"I hope they're okay."

"Yeah, thanks. Dad's aid to the Minister and mum's with the Magical creatures' containment unit", she explained.

"Oh cool! What's the most dangerous animal she's caught?" Charles asked, interested, and looking at her.

"She's in the midlands, mostly. So, nothing too dangerous. I think the usual cases are pets escaped or released by their owners. Like Nifflers, ghouls and the likes", she elaborated.

"I didn't think Nifflers'd require containment", Charles shrugged.

"In the wild? No, but you see, a Niffler loves shiny things and would easily dig through a building's foundations in what? Two days?" Dreogan told his cousin.

"Yeah, more or less. So, a Niffler is found in a muggle environment, it is caught and released in the wild", Ethel concluded. "Maybe now that Cillian's dead the Ministry will catch your siblings."

"They killed him. I'm not sure the Ministry will catch them. They still treat them as unruly children, rather than powerful witch and wizard of the dark arts who live and thrive in causing people pain and death simply because they enjoy it", Dreogan told her.

"The Ministry officials say that his two supporters killed him to seize power, and your siblings managed to kill them in turn, yet the attacks have ceased. So, it is unclear if your siblings survived the experience", Ethel said.

"They could not be more wrong if they tried…" Dreogan shook his head in disbelief of the Ministry's ostrich syndrome ability.

"From what I've seen so far of Azrail and his lieutenants…I agree with my cuz."

"I wish Ministry's correct but…I don't know", she told them, lowering her head.

"Anyone want to grab something to eat?" Charles asked, rubbing his belly.

"You're always hungry!" Ethel remarked, making Dreogan snort.

"Oh shush! You can't talk!" he told Dreogan.

They headed to the Great Hall, to eat.

A week later, Dreogan was asleep. A dream started, as they do in this case. A pair of fiery black wings unfolded out of total darkness, erupting into being. Between them Azrail's face comes into flame-light.

"Give it to me! Or I'll come get it myself."

Pictures of Hogwarts raised to the ground and surrendered to fire flashed in Dreogan's mind.

"You don't want me to kill everyone, do you?" Azrail said, in a deathly, low voice.

"You want the book of leaves, brother? Come and fucking get it!" Dreogan replied, for the first time, in such a dream-that-was-not-a-dream.

Azrail's flamed head recoiled, surprised.

"Thought I couldn't react or reply in these dreams of yours?" Dreogan laughed in his sleep.

"All you have to do is give me that book, and I don't have to hurt anyone at school", Azrail tried to tempt him.

"Lies! You love hurting and killing people", Dreogan refuted him.

"I do, it is true. I just looove seeing pain, causing pain. Is there any pleasure more exquisite than viewing the light, life and soul slowly escape some toy's eyes?" Azrail, replied, hissing at 'looove'.

"You disgust me."

"I! I disgust you!" Azrail's eyes ejected liquid fire in rage. "Only one person dared tell me that before. She's not in a very good shape now, is she!"

"Did my mother express her feelings on _just_ how disgusting you are? She's in…" Dreogan taunted him.

" _Your_ mother? What does _she_ have to do with this? How do _you_ know she yet lives?" Azrail's face flared up in anger and surprise.

"You can do better than that, half-brother, to torture me. You told me where to find her. In Bwana farm, then sent me your…whatever they are to kill us", Dreogan smiled, he knew it would piss Azrail off.

"YOU LIE! Give me the book!" The dream ended, Dreogan woke up.

"Still dark outside, could he not like wait for one or two more hours?" Dreogan wondered, sitting at the edge of his bed, rubbing his eyes.

"He hisses like a snake, yet he can't…ooohh, I know what to do! Now to find the damned book", He smiled, inwardly, to himself.

11


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15: Out of The Shadow Cast

"You look grim, more than usual", Charles noted.

"We need to study", Dreogan feigned ignorance.

"On a Saturday morning? I mean summer's here and all but since when do you want to study on Saturdays? And morning! Instead of playing exploding snap?" Emerick questioned.

"Claudia's right, exams are close", Dreogan replied.

Claudia and Charles chocked on their own saliva. "Are you feeling okay?" she asked him.

"Yeah, sure why not?"

"Well since we're here…" Claudia got her defense against the dark arts books and notes out. Emerick did the same with Charles trying to study potions.

"Hey, can I borrow your notes on Revelio? Mine are uh…incomplete", Charles asked Dreogan.

Dreogan snorted, opening the book. "We did this at the start of the ye…"

"Well yeah, and it was a Quidditch day!" Charles said, not noticing Dreogan's eyes locked at the pages of the notebook. "Now, lemme see…" He started to copy the notes.

"Is used to reveal…yeah have that bit…hidden ink…yeah have that bit too…some transfigurations even if hidden can obstruct light…" He continued to mumble to himself as he wrote.

"Exploding snap anyone?" Dreogan asked, having finished his homework.

Just then, a loud bang coming from behind them shook the desks and shelves in the library, making them jump up.

"PEEVES! GET OUT! NOW!" The librarian bellowed at the top of his lungs.

"They said exploding snap! So, SNAP!" A second loud explosion rocked the library.

"I'll tell the Bloody Baron! OUT!"

"Your nephew was much more fun! SPOILSPORT!" Peeves blew raspberries at the Librarian and with a third loud explosion he vanished with a pop.

"Where have the ghosts been for two years now?" Claudia wondered. The ghosts did seem to have mostly vanished the previous two years.

"We see them around from time to time", Emerick shrugged.

"Yeah, but still from what I hear they used to be far more involved than the last two years", Claudia shrugged back, unlike her.

"They are ghosts, who knows? So, shall we go…?" Dreogan begun to say.

"Stop bullshitting us. It's been two weeks now that you have been searching for the book of leaves and you've been looking more and more grim the longer you aren't finding it", Claudia confronted him.

"Ha! I knew you didn't really care for the exams!" Charles tried to say without speaking too loudly.

"I thought I'd water the pot along with the basil", Dreogan replied. "Yes, I have been searching for the damn book. Unlike my brother and sister, I inherited Salazar Slytherin's key trait. So, I'll hide it where he can't get it and If he ever dares come within twenty kilometers of Hogwarts, I'll destroy it", Dreogan told them in a hushed whisper.

"You did this! Why! We stashed her in Bwana farm for a reason!" The others avoided going into the 'throne room', while the twins fought, even if their fights did not last long, sometimes they turned violent and always unpredictable.

"I tortured her for twelve years! And I…we will use Charles and Hope to destroy him! Besides you used my illusion spell on Sandra's father, you destroyed her for your gain! Don't you dare lecture me!" Ernaline screamed back at him, wand drawn.

"I have no interest in women or men, it was father who did that on her, just as he did it to you. He destroyed people with more than magic", Azrail circled her like a hyena. "We killed her real anger-focus, and her father was my first contract. The wheel turns!" He laughed. "With Dreogan I embraced my darker side, torturing him helped me discover me. With Sandra's parents I became the Angel of Death!" He bared his teeth, saliva spilling out.

"I'm using your spell to manipulate my friend in Hogwarts by pretending to be their father. Like father like son", Azrail cackled.

"It did feel good getting rid of him," she said, lowering her wand, yet kept constant eye contact.

"Yes, it did! Didn't it, sister! We no longer need his shadow for we create our own. It is time to plunge the wizarding world into chaos…as soon as my brother enables his fear to cause the bitch to panic", Ernaline howled into the night, like a she-wolf.

"You know…you could ask for help", Claudia told Dreogan, resigned.

"I know, I would as soon as I had located it, and I did", he told her.

"Where is it, then?" Emerick asked.

"Hidden in plain sight, where everyone can see it, yet no one realizes it. Here in the library."

"That can't be, we'd see the enflamed wings, and it", Claudia said.

"Charles, having me open my Revelio notes reminded me of Emerick complaining a few days past. "Some transfigurations obstruct light."" Their irises dilated in recognition and surprise.

"Let us cast…" Dreogan cut Charles off.

"No, not yet. We'll come after the library closes for the night", Dreogan told him, and so they did, with Lumos in order to be able to see; Claudia opened the library doors for them.

"Revelio!" Dreogan pointed his wand at the ceiling.

A shade flickered but nothing more happened.

"Guys help me out here. All together now!" They extended their wands and cast it at the same time.

The shade vanished revealing the bright flames in the shape of two wings covering the theta and the book between them.

"Now, hopefully I don't blow up the library…" He walked up to it, touching the symbol.

With a vortex _pop_ it vanished, leaving the book behind.

"That's a good sign, I guess", Claudia let out a breath.

"Where do you intent to hide it?" Charles asked him.

"I would also very much like to know that, Mr.-Burton-to-be", A female voice came from behind them.

"Headmistress Adams!" All four of them yelled simultaneously.

"Indeed", She looked less than pleased.

"I am going to place it in the chamber of secrets, the one place in Hogwarts no one else other than me can enter", Dreogan told her.

"A clever plan, if it wasn't for the fact your brother used it for his experiments, after the room of requirement became unavailable to him. He learned how to access it from your father who taught him how to say "open" in parcel tongue", she told them, walking up to the book. "The book's no longer safe in Hogwarts, and your brother knows it's here, so tomorrow it'll be sent to a more secure location. Go to your beds before I decide to punish you all with more than fifty house points, each."

"No, professor! That is exactly what Azrail wants! Please, keep it in your office, or wherever in here."

"It is not under negotiation, Mr. Gaunt," she replied angry.

"He will steal it."

"I've made arrangements already, no less than twenty of the Ministry's best Aurors will accompany it to its next location and will change it locations every day after. He will never find it."

"He will…"

"Not. Another. Word", She turned and left.

No one uttered another word, even Dreogan felt crushed his plan wasn't as good as he had thought.

Next morning, a package arrived for him.

"Who is it from?" Charles asked him, not recognizing the owl bearing it.

Dreogan shrugged, opening the black wrapping paper. He then opened the carton box. Inside it wrapped in leather was a broken wand in three pieces and a book.

"My father's wand and…the book of leaves? The fake!" He yelled. "Oh my god! I know how he is going to do it! I know how he is going to blow up the Ministry!" He yelled, everyone in the Great Hall turning their heads to him.

Horsewood stood up from her chair, in the Professors' table and walked to him, fast. "Mr. Gaunt, please explain yourself."

"My brother gave that reporter the information on how father…made me, he used father's attack on the Daily prophet not only to heist the ministry but prepare his attack on it. I'm guessing he has planned something which will enable him to destroy it. That's Azrail! Never does anything without a reason, usually more than one. He is letting me…us he's won. Father's broken wand, and the fake book of leaves, he is going to attack the Ministry today, and he's letting us know he has the real book," Dreogan said in almost one breath.

"I hope you're wrong…but in case you're not…" She nodded and left the Great Hall, walking as fast as she could without running.

Twenty minutes later, the Great Hall still buzzing, the broken wand dissolved into ash which created a large moving image midair where all could see.

The image cleared until the Daily Seer could be seen inside it. It was the Ministry's main Entrance, underground with its statues in gold, the large glass windows and arched bridges.

"Shit", Claudia took out her wand pointing it at the air. "VIGILARE PAPA!" she yelled and with a booming sound, that made glasses near her shake, a jet of red light erupted from her wand for a blink of an eye, then vanished.

Before anyone could ask what she had done, or she could attempt to explain, Azrail, Ernaline, Bloodfang, Sandra and Marigold apparated in the middle of it, between the statues.

Instantly the wizards and witches around them, either screamed and run for cover or got their wands out.

"He is attempting a full-frontal attack?" Charles asked, in awe.

"No…" Dreogan had gone pale.

"Ministry of Magic, surrender to us unconditionally, for I am the Archangel of Death, messenger of the ferryman incarnate", Azrail said in his Dementor's cloak.

Students gasped and cried. "He's wearing a Dementor's cloak!" "How! They are undying!" Some of them whispered.

"He really is what he claims!", someone else vocalized.

Aurors surrounded Azrail and his group, yet they seemed completely relaxed.

"Surrender now and we won't kill you all", Azrail laughed. "But what would be the point of that!" He extended his hand out, empty and open. With his palm looking up.

The two wings around the theta flared up in his hand. "You should never assume I thought I had the real book of leaves, when I knew I had the fake one and I let you morons believe otherwise, heisted the fake one and used the opportunity to place a device in the Minister's office!" Just then he burst into laughter, closing his fist.

The Minister's office blew up into bright red flames, which cascaded down and up engulfing the whole building.

When the flames died down some, they saw a large blue, watery shield around Azrail and the others dissipate and vanish.

"Fan out, kill all who are not yet dead", he said before dissapparating.

The ash-mirror above their heads destabilized, raining down like ash from a volcano.

People were crying, others were wailing, knowing their father, mother or parents had just died. Some screamed and panicked.

"Remain calm!" The Headmistress' thunderous voice, no doubt enhanced by a spell, echoed through the Great Hall, and school. "In here you are safe. The exams will be postponed for a week, and we will contact your parents, please remain calm and return to your revisions and classes", she said.

Dreogan looked at his friends with teary, yet resolute eyes. "We must be there for one another, we must stand together", he told them, extending a hand out, at them.

"Aye", Emerick replied, placing his hand on Dreogan's.

"For sure", Charles placed his.

"Certamente", Claudia placed hers.

6


End file.
